The police said the organisers of Sunburn, an EDM festival, began the sale of tickets on Book My Show without obtaining official permission.
Published Dec 25, 2023 | 8:43 PM ⚊ Updated Dec 25, 2023 | 8:44 PM
A case of cheating against the organisers of the Sunburn music dance festival was registered by the Cyberabad police on Monday, 25 December, for not seeking relevant permissions before announcing and commencing the ticket sales, the police said.
The event is scheduled for 31 December, New Year’s Eve, at Madhapur’s Yolo Arena, as per the online ticketing platform Book My Show.
The cops have also served a legal notice to the event organisers.
Madhapur Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) N Narshimha Reddy told South First, “Those who had applied for permission in the name of Sunburn event did not get the excise and venue permission but they are already selling tickets at the Book My Show.”
He added: “As of now, the show does not stand cancelled, but the permission has also not been granted. Once our team submits a report, we will take further action.”
A case under the IPC Section 420 (cheating and dishonesty) has been registered at the Madhapur Police Station in this regard.
On 24 December, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy asked Cyberabad Commissioner of Police (CP) Avinash Mohanty to inquire into the sale of tickets for the Sunburn Festival in Hyderabad.
He said Book My Show had no permission to sell tickets for the festival and that those who were under 18 were not allowed at the festival.
“There is no question of selling liquor to those who are under 18 years of age,” he said, asking officials to inquire with the Book My Show platform.
The chief minister was addressing his first meeting with district collectors and superintendents of police (SPs) at the state Secretariat.
A screengrab of the details of the Sunburn Hyderabad uploaded on the Book My Show Website.
Revanth Reddy said the police should curb events that make the youth go awry.
“In states like Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Goa, there is a ban on such festivals. Don’t treat them as revenue sources. They do incalculable harm to the youth,” he said, instructing the officials to crackdown on drugs.
When South First went through Book My Show’s website on Monday, the sale of tickets for “Sunburn NYE-2024” — the name of the event posted by the organisers — was still underway.
Earlier in the day, reports suggested that the Cyberabad Commissionerate’s CP Avinash Mohanty said the organisers were yet to apply for permission to conduct the event.
“Those found selling tickets for the event without permission will be prosecuted,” the newly-appointed CP said.
Meanwhile, the Cyberabad police said if the residents of gated communities wanted to organise an event, they would have to get permission from the concerned ACP office to instal sound systems. Applications are available on the police’s website.
Sunburn, which was first held as a three-day festival in 2007 at Goa’s Vagator beach, is a commercial electronic music dance (EDM) festival.
It is owned by Percept Limited, an entertainment, media and communications agency based out of Mumbai.
With a history of over 15 years now, the festival is said to be one of the top 10 dance music festivals in the world.
Over the years, Sunburn has hosted several globally renowned DJs, including Swedish House Mafia, Hardwell, David Guetta, Marshmello, and Afrojack.
Sunburn Trance Music Festival in Candolim, Goa.
The EDM festival has also been conducted in Colombo (Sri Lanka), Kathmandu (Nepal), Dubai (the UAE), Muscat (Oman), and Melbourne (Australia), as per the official website.
Percept Limited has also launched what is known as offshoot brands such as Sunburn Arena, Sunburn City Festival, Sunburn Campus, and Sunburn Reload.
Sunburn concerts have also taken place in several prominent educational institutions over the past years.
A source from Book My Show told South First, “The Sunburn Hyderabad festival is a royalty brand event that the company is taking services of a local promoter (Angel Events). It comes under the Sunburn Reload offshoot brand.”
The source added: “The local promoters (Angela Events) are managing it so it is their responsibility to deal with logistics and permission. Sunburn has agreed to a deal with them and it is their responsibility to organise the programme.”
South First reached out to the representatives of Percept Limited for further clarity and is awaiting a response. The story will be updated as soon as the response is received.
