Salman Khan, the Hindi actor, along with his sister Alvira Khan and seven others associated with the Being Human Foundation were issued summons by the Chandigarh Police on Friday in an alleged fraud case, ANI reported.
The Chandigarh Police has given the accused time till July 13 to respond, adding that in case there is ‘anything criminal’, action will be taken.
The summon is based on a complaint lodged by Arun Gupta, a local businessman, who alleged that commitments made by the Style Quotient Jewellery Pvt Ltd, the global licensee for the jewellery vertical of Khan’s Being Human Foundation, were not honoured.
In November 2018, Gupta opened a franchise showroom named Being Human Jewellery, he told ANI. Two of Style Quotient’s employees came to him and ‘pressurised’ him into investing Rs 2 crore in the franchise with the promise that Salman Khan would open his showroom, Gupta alleged.
“After opening the showroom, we have not received any spot. They called us for a meet-and-greet with Salman Khan in December 2018. I met him and he promised me support. Now 1.5 years have passed and I have not received anything. Salman did not even reply to the letters I sent in 2019,” he further added.
On Friday, Style Quotient issued a statement clarifying that the matter is between SQJPL and Arun Gupta’s Modern Jewels alone as “neither Being Human- The Salman Khan Foundation, Salman Khan, Alvira Khan nor any other representative of the Foundation are parties to the said MoU and they have nothing to do with it.”
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It added, “In fact, Mr Salman Khan is only the owner of the brand ‘Being Human’ and not even a trustee of the Being Human Foundation.”
In August 2018, SQJPL signed an MoU with Modern Jewels to be the first franchise of Being Human Jewellery, the statement said.
Requesting the media to ascertain facts before publishing or republishing on the matter, the statement from SQJPL added, “We at SQJPL have already submitted a written response which clarifies all of the above. Since the matter is currently sub judice, we will not be able to comment more.”