Nine in Raipur held for selling cricket match tickets in black

The Raipur city police in Chhattisgarh in the past two days have arrested nine people for allegedly selling tickets for the India vs New Zealand cricket match in the black market, officials said. The second one-day international is being played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Raipur Saturday afternoon. It is for the first time a one-day international match is being played in the city.

Many cricket fans were upset as the tickets were sold out in a short span of time. Acting on a tip-off that some people were selling tickets on the black market on Thursday and Friday, the Raipur police arrested nine people from Civil Lines, Pachpedi, and Thana Ganj areas and seized 66 tickets from them.

The accused were selling the tickets at triple to five times their original price. The ticket worth Rs 500 was being sold for Rs 1,500 and the ticket worth Rs 1,000 was being sold for Rs 5,000, said a police officer.

The Indian team, on its arrival at Raipur on Thursday, was welcomed with a traditional tribal dance and music. A portrait of Virat Kohli was also painted on the wall of a bridge in Raipur city to welcome the star cricketer. Chief Minister, Bhupesh Baghel, tweeted, “We are ready. Chattisgarh is ready to witness historical moments.”