AR Rahman concert fiasco: Police register cases against event organiser
Many people took to social media to talk about their plight as they could not reach the venue on time due to severe traffic congestion on ECR, while others were critical of the way things were handled
Published: 22nd September 2023 06:23 PM | Last Updated: 23rd September 2023 08:19 AM | A+A A-
Music maestro Rahman performing at the 'Marakkuma Nenjam' concert. (Photo | AR Rahman Twitter)
CHENNAI: The Tambaram city police on Friday registered cases against the CEO of ACTC Events, the company that handled A R Rahman’s September 10 concert held in Chennai, for overselling tickets, committing breach of trust, and causing inconvenience to people.
The Kanathur police have booked Hemanth Kumar under Sections 406 and 188 of IPC. Tambaram Commissioner of Police A Amalraj said, “The agency was given permission to allow 25,000 people but they disobeyed police order and sold more tickets than the permitted limit.
The mismanagement led to chaos and several people who had bought the tickets were unable to watch the concert. It was a clear breach of trust.” About 15,000 to 20,000 tickets were sold more than the stipulated number, he said.
“The organisers have violated the licence conditions for holding the event,” Amalraj said. The concert was conducted on the ground at Panaiyur. Thousands got caught in traffic on ECR and OMR roads and multiple women complained of harassment in the crowd at the concert. A day later, people took to social media to share their ordeal.
Some who missed concert got refund, others still wait
Chief Minister M K Stalin who took part in a programme in Mamallapuram also got caught in the traffic. Unable to move forward, the CM convoy went around the venue through farm fields to reach the road. Days after this, Deepa Sathyan, an IPS officer who was the then deputy commissioner of Pallikaranai under whose jurisdiction the venue fell, was transferred and put under compulsory wait. Rahman apologised for the inconvenience caused during the concert and assured me that the ticket money would be reimbursed.
Anita Anish, a teacher, said, “I got stuck in the traffic and couldn’t even enter the venue. I bought two Diamond category tickets, each costing about Rs 5,000. I saw a tweet on AR Rahman’s handle that said we could get our refunds and directed us to a site (arr4chennai@btos.in). I sent an email on September 11, and got my refund on September 20.”
“I purchased 2 Silver tickets, of Rs 1,000 rupees each. However, we couldn’t get into the concert due to the traffic. Two days after the concert, on September 12, I sent an email to the ID mentioned in Rahman’s tweet. They asked for details and I shared them, but they probably missed it. I got back to them four days later and an automated reply said they would get back to me soon,” said Pretham, Credit Manager, at Barclays.
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