WC ticket black-marketing: Bengal Guv returns complimentary tickets to CAB

Kolkata: West Bengal Governor C.V. Ananda Bose has returned the complementary tickets sent to him by the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) for the ICC World Cup league match between India and South Africa here on Sunday at Eden Gardens.

Raj Bhavan sources said that the CAB had sent four complimentary tickets to the office of the governor. The issue of black-marketing of tickets had not surfaced then.

In connection with the matter, the Kolkata Police have initiated a probe into the matter and also arrested several persons.

In light of all the developments, the Governor decided to send back the complimentary tickets to the CAB.

At the same time, at the insistence of the Governor, the Raj Bhavan authorities have decided to organise a live screening of the match on a giant screen at the Governor's House premises.

A total of 500 people will be accommodated on a "first come first served" basis.

Meanwhile, the police on Saturday questioned some office bearers of the CAB in connection with the black ticket matter.

Till date, the police have arrested 22 people in connection with the matter, and seized a total of 127 tickets -- all for Sunday's match.

The matter of ticket black-marketing first surfaced after the police on November 1 evening arrested an individual red-handed while trying to sell tickets for the India-South Africa match scheduled on November 5.

Later, an individual filed a complaint with Kolkata Police, accusing the BCCI, CAB and the BookMyShow of promoting black marketing of tickets for the ODI World Cup 2023.