In a significant crackdown on ticket touting during the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season, the Bengaluru Central Crime Branch (CCB) has arrested
a canteen employee at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium.
The person has been arrested for allegedly diverting and reselling match tickets at exorbitant prices, exposing a deeper network involving corporate fronts and Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) insiders.
The accused, Chandrashekhar, who worked at Sri Lakshmi Canteen inside the stadium, was nabbed while peddling over 180 tickets for the high-voltage April 15 clash between Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). He was reportedly charging between ₹15,000 and ₹19,000 per ticket - a massive markup from face value - targeting desperate fans eager to watch the defending champions in action at their home ground.
How did the Bengaluru Police Crack the Chinnaswamy Case?
The probe was triggered by intelligence about bulk purchases being rerouted to the black market. Investigators discovered that the tickets were originally booked through the authorised online platform Ticketgenie in the names of Swastik Heavy Engineering and Industrial Automation Consultant Company, as well as 50 under Dharani Computers Company. These were allegedly siphoned off and sold at inflated rates. A similar modus operandi surfaced for the March 28 RCB versus Chennai Super Kings (CSK) encounter, where 81 tickets valued at around ₹6.6 lakh were misused and resold.
In total, police recovered details of 181 tickets across categories worth ₹17,52,600 that had been illegally diverted. During questioning, Chandrashekhar named KSCA member Ganesh Pareekshit as the key supplier who allegedly directed him to offload the tickets at premium prices. Pareekshit is now absconding, with a manhunt underway. Authorities have also registered cases against managing directors of the involved private companies for facilitating the racket.
This scandal comes at a time when demand for RCB matches is at a fever pitch. On April 15, RCB delivered a commanding performance, bowling out LSG for just 146 before chasing down the target of 147 in only 15.1 overs with five wickets in hand and 29 balls to spare. With the victory, they are currently 2nd in the IPL 2026 table with 8 points in five matches.
Fans, already frustrated by high demand and previous black-market incidents near Chinnaswamy, have welcomed the action. Police have warned against buying from unauthorised sources and urged legitimate purchases only through official channels.
