Gurgaon:
The first Indian concert of the gods of rock, Metallica, which was
earlier postponed to Saturday due to a technical fault, has been
cancelled following the organisers' inability to secure a permit.
Refunds will be announced within the next 24 hours.
Fans of American band Metallica vandalise the stage after the concert was postponed, in Gurgaon.
"Metallica arrived in Delhi on Friday very excited and ready to play their first show ever in India at the F1 Rocks concert," Lars Ulrich, one of the founding members of the band, said in a press statement.
"However, immediately at the end of the press conference at a hotel near the venue the band was notified that there was a serious question as to whether the show could proceed with regard to safety of the concert audience. Metallica's first and foremost concern is always for the safety of their concert fans," he added.
The show was initially scheduled to take place at the Leisure Valley Ground here Friday evening. Over 25,000 fans had gathered at the venue to witness the high voltage performance, that the band is known for. Most fans wore black Metallica t-shirts to show their love -- but returned in anger after the show was postponed.
"As soon as the organisers announced that the show has been postponed, the crowd went berserk... people started pushing each other, broke barricades, started shouting and throwing water bottles," Pankaj Kaushik, who waited for three hours for the show to begin, told IANS.
The venue was vandalised by upset fans, some of whom even ran around the ground shirt-less as a mark of rebellion. They threw bottles at the security personnel, who formed a human chain on the stage.
Technical equipment was destroyed as angry fans threw chairs at the LED wall.
"People have come from across various countries - Malaysia, China, Nepal, Indonesia, Singapore... but everybody is feeling robbed," said Anurag Sharma, another disappointed fan.
Due to the chaos caused, four people, including a top official of the company organising the concert, were arrested early Saturday on charges of cheating and breach of trust, as the event was postponed at the last moment.
They were arrested under section 406 (breach of trust) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code, Gurgaon's Sector 29 Station House Officer Jagdish Prasad told IANS.
The Metallica concert was the opener for the 'F1 Rocks' series of performances for the Formula 1 event.
Here's what went wrong: "Once the promoters of the show, DNA Networks, and Metallica determined that there was a failure of a security barricade in front of the stage that could not be adequately repaired, they reluctantly announced the postponement of the show until Saturday.
"Unfortunately, on such short notice the promoters were unable to secure a permit for a show on Saturday, therefore DNA announced that Metallica would not be able to play in Delhi."
As for the ticket refunds, "within the next 24 hours a notification will be issued by DNA Networks regarding the process for full refunds."
The entry to the show was priced between Rs.1,650 and Rs.2,750, and had drawn in fans from several cities like Kerala, Mumbai, Manipur, Kolkata, Jaipur and countries like Bangladesh, China, Nepal, Indonesia and Singapore.
Metallica is due to perform in Bangalore on Sunday.