Four officials of an event management firm were arrested on Saturday, a day after American rock band Metallica’s Gurgaon concert was cancelled.
The organiser, DNA Networks, had initially postponed the event to Saturday but later cancelled it, provoking many fans to vandalise the Leisure Valley Ground venue. According to the police, Rajesh Kumar, general manager of DNA Networks, was arrested along with team members Umesh Chinara, Ashok Singh and Saviou Faleiro on charges of cheating and breach of trust. A local court sent all the accused to police remand for six days.
Meanwhile, Metallica said that the concert was cancelled due to safety concerns."Once the promoters of the show, DNA Networks, and Metallica determined that there was failure of a security barricade in front of the stage that could not be adequately
repaired, they reluctantly announced postponement of the show until Saturday. Unfortunately, on such short notice, the promoters were unable to secure a permit for a show, therefore DNA Networks announced that Metallica would not be able to play in Delhi. Metallica is deeply disappointed with this news," drummer Lars Ulrich said in a statement.
The organisers has sold tickets worth R11 crore. Around 85% tickets were purchased online. The organisers have been booked after one of the buyers Chaderpal Yadav lodged a complaint with the Sector 29 police.
{{/usCountry}}The organisers has sold tickets worth R11 crore. Around 85% tickets were purchased online. The organisers have been booked after one of the buyers Chaderpal Yadav lodged a complaint with the Sector 29 police.
{{/usCountry}}Soon after the concert was cancelled, the situation went out of control as fans anxiously waiting for the show, tried to break barriers to reach the stage and started damaging equipment.
Even as the organisers were facing problems in managing affairs inside the venue, tickets were being sold over the counter till the eleventh hour.
“They sold me a ticket at 5.40pm and it took me one hour to get inside. By then, it was all disrupted. I wonder why they sold the ticket to me,” said Kartik Khurana.
Many who managed to enter the venue said there was no metal detector and security guards frisked them casually. Besides, there were hardly any bouncers and guards. The Gurgaon administration has written to the Bangalore branch of the Indian Bank to freeze DNA Networks’ account as part of the process to redeem the tickets. The company may also be blacklist for failing to consult authorities before calling off the show.