Chaos at A R Rahman's Sept 10 concert: Police book cases against event organiser
Chennai (PTI):. Police on Friday registered cases against an official of ACTC Events, the organiser of A R Rahman's September 10 concert here, and two others, for overselling tickets, committing breach of trust and causing inconvenience to the people.
Oscar-winning music composer Rahman's concert titled 'Marakkuma Nenjam' (Does the Heart Ever Forget) was held at a private venue on East Coast Road (ECR).
"Due to chaos at the venue, many complained about the concert tickets being oversold. Following this, the Tambaram City Police took up the investigation and registered cases under IPC section 406 (punishment for criminal breach of trust) and 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated) against Hemanth Raja, CEO of ACTC Events, and two others," a senior police official said.
An investigation revealed that the organisers had sold tickets beyond the seating capacity of the arena. A case of cheating was also booked against them, he said.
Tambaram City Police Commissioner A Amalraj had said nearly 15,000 people beyond the expected number had converged at the venue. The crowd was "more than expected"; 25,000 chairs were arranged "but 35,000 to 40,000 people turned up," he said.
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 that evening and highlighted how despite spending huge sums for the tickets, they were denied access.
Rahman later said he had nothing to do with the "inconveniences" caused to people during his concert, and
Hemanth shared a video on Instagram saying the composer should not be targeted on social media as "ACTC takes responsibility" for the problems faced by people on September 10.
He gave the assurance that the cost of the ticket would be refunded to those who had missed out on the concert, and apologised for the inconvenience caused to people.
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Telangana CM urges Amit Shah to increase sanctioned strength of IPS officers in state
Hyderabad (PTI): Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy met Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Delhi on Wednesday night and urged him to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state in view of its growing administrative and security needs.
The two leaders also discussed the recent surrender of several senior Maoist leaders before the Telangana Police and other issues.
"During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the issue of Maoist surrenders and their rehabilitation. The chief minister informed Shah that significant improvements in policing have taken place in Telangana over the past two years," an official release here said.
Highlighting that 591 Maoists have laid down their arms and joined the mainstream of society during this period, the chief minister said the state government was providing them compensation and rehabilitation assistance as per the rules.
He requested the Union home minister to extend financial support from the central government for development works in the backward regions of the state.
Reddy also urged Shah to increase the sanctioned strength of IPS officers to the state from 83 to 105 in line with the state's growing administrative and security needs, the statement said.
The first cadre review after the formation of Telangana was conducted in 2016, while the next review, due in 2021, was delayed and finally carried out in 2025. Even then, only seven additional IPS officers were allocated to the state, the chief minister informed Shah and requested that the third cadre review be conducted in 2026 as per the schedule.
Reddy explained that Telangana, like the rest of the country, is facing several modern challenges, including cybercrime, drug trafficking, white-collar crimes, and other emerging security threats.
He highlighted the reorganisation of the Hyderabad, Cyberabad, and Malkajgiri Police Commissionerates, the proposed formation of the Future City Commissionerate and the rapidly growing population in Hyderabad to underline the increasing administrative requirements of the state.
