New Delhi, May 9 (IANS) The Delhi Police Crime Branch on Saturday busted a major racket involved in the black marketing of Tata IPL match tickets and arrested three accused persons allegedly posing as authorised sellers of the cricket match tickets, officials said. A total of 54 match tickets, including 33 complimentary passes marked “Not for Sale”, were recovered from their possession.

The accused have been identified as 35-year-old Mukeem, son of Nanhe Kha and a resident of Moradabad district in Uttar Pradesh; 36-year-old Gufran alias Sajid, son of Abdul Rasheed and a resident of Okhla’s Jamia Nagar in Delhi; and 38-year-old Md. Faisal, son of Habibur Rehman and a resident of Delhi’s Seelampur.

According to the Crime Branch, the accused were selling complimentary passes at exorbitant prices of nearly Rs 20,000 each, while regular tickets were being sold at almost double their printed price.

The prices were allegedly fixed depending on the demand, profile of buyers, and popularity of the match, police officials added.

The operation was carried out by a team of Delhi Police Crime Branch’s Anti-Robbery and Snatching Cell led by Inspectors Man Singh and Sunder Gautam under the supervision of Assistant Commissioner of Police Sanjay Kumar Nagpal.

Acting on specific information on May 8, the police team laid a trap near Delhi Gate and apprehended the three accused while they were allegedly engaged in selling IPL tickets at inflated rates.

During the police investigation, it was revealed that the accused falsely projected themselves as authorised representatives of the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and other cricket administration authorities to gain the trust of cricket enthusiasts and cheat prospective buyers.

Police said the accused were operating an organised interstate network involved in the illegal sale of IPL tickets across various cities where matches were being held.

They allegedly travelled by air to different IPL venues and procured tickets and complimentary passes through multiple sources.

Investigators also revealed that the accused also supplied premium tickets at exorbitant prices to persons allegedly involved in online betting and ‘satta’ operations inside stadiums, as well as to high-profile pickpockets and other criminal elements.

Following the operation, an FIR dated May 9, under Sections 316(2), 318(2), 319, 61(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) was registered at the Delhi Police Station Crime Branch.

All three accused have been arrested and are currently in police remand.

The Crime Branch said that further investigation is underway to identify other persons associated with the syndicate who may have been involved in procuring and illegally selling IPL tickets.

Police records also show previous criminal involvement of the accused.

Gufran was previously booked in a cheating case at Delhi’s Nand Nagri Police Station in 2011.

Faisal was earlier involved in theft and gambling-related cases registered in Delhi and Punjab, while Mukeem was allegedly involved in a ticket black marketing case during the Auto Expo in Haryana’s Faridabad.

–IANS

jk/khz