Moradabad (UP), Feb 24: Bollywood actress Sonakshi Sinha and four others have been booked for allegedly cheating an event organiser here, police officials said Sunday.

However, Sinha's management agency, in a statement, alleged that the event organiser was using the media to release "false and manipulated" information, and she would be "forced" to take legal action.

The case was registered against the actress and the others under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections pertaining to cheating and criminal breach of trust, police said.

In a complaint on November 24 last year, an event organiser, Pramod Sharma, had alleged that he paid Rs 24 lakh to a company to invite Sinha for a prize distribution function in Delhi and that the actress had confirmed her presence, but did not turn up, the officials said.

The complainant, a resident of Shivpuri in Moradabad, said in total, he paid Rs 37 lakh, which included transferring a huge amount to Sinha, according to police.

Sinha's management agency has denied the charge, saying despite repeated reminders, the organiser failed to make payments to the actress before the event as contracted.

"The investigating officer in the case had served a notice to Sinha and the four others, but after not getting a response an FIR was registered on Friday," Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Moradabad, Ravindra Gaud, said.

He said among the four others are Mumbai residents Abhishek, Malvika Dhumil and Edgar.

The case has been registered at the Katghar police station.

Station House Officer, Katghar, Ajeet Singh said the case was registered under section 420 (cheating) and 406 (criminal breach of trust) of the Indian Penal Code.

The investigation in the case has started, he said.

In the statement, the agency said, "Sonakshi was approached by the event organisers in Delhi to attend an event. However, despite repeated reminders, the organiser failed to make the payments to Sonakshi before the event as contracted."

"The tickets to Delhi were not in order/as were agreed, the organiser also didn't send return tickets for Sonakshi and her team, despite knowing that she had a shoot the next morning after the event.This put everyone in a tough spot," it said.

Several attempts were made to contact the organiser to request him to make the "contracted payments and send the tickets, however, they remained incommunicado and didn't live up to their end of the bargain", Sinha's management agency claimed.

Due to a lack of commitment by the organiser, the actress and her team were left with no choice but to return home from the Mumbai airport, according to the statement.

"Ever since that day, Sonakshi's management agency has been trying to reach out to the organiser to find an amicable solution to the extent of offering an alternate date and tried to connect but to no avail.

"The organiser is now using the media to release false and manipulated facts. If the organiser doesn't stop at this, Sonakshi and her team will be forced to take a legal course of action to set this straight. We request media to not let anyone use their platform without looking into the facts," the statement read.

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Malegaon (Maharashtra), Nov 23: In a closely contested election, Mohammad Ismail Abdul Khalique of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) has retained the Malegaon Central assembly seat, winning by a razor-thin margin of 162 votes.

This victory in the north Maharashtra constituency marks a significant turnaround for Khalique, who previously enjoyed a commanding lead in the 2019 elections, winning by over one lakh votes.

Khalique, an Islamic scholar, received a total of 1,09,653 votes this time, narrowly defeating his nearest rival, Asif Shaikh Rasheed of the Indian Secular Largest Assembly of Maharashtra party, who got 1,09,491 votes.

There were a total of 13 candidates contesting in this Muslim dominated constituency. Barring Khalique and Rasheed, two other candidates -- Shaan-e-Hind Nihal Ahmed of Samajwadi Party and Ejaz Baig Aziz Baig managed below 10,000 votes. Other remaining candidates were below 1,000 votes.

This election marks Khalique's third term as an MLA. He initially represented the Malegaon Central seat in 2009 as a member of the Jan Surajya Shakti party.

However, Khalique faced a setback in the 2014 elections when he contested under the banner of the Nationalist Congress Party and lost.

His return to the assembly in 2019 under the AIMIM banner solidified his political presence, and despite the significantly reduced margin this year, he has once again emerged victorious.

The results highlight the competitive nature of the Malegaon Central constituency and underscore Khalique's resilience in maintaining his position amidst changing political dynamics.