Complaint against Virender Sehwag

A local resident has lodged a complaint against India batsman Virender Sehwag and his business partner alleging that he was not given the franchise rights of the cricketer's restaurant despite paying more than Rs 2 lakh for it.

"A complaint has reached us through a registered post whereby Dr Rajat Sharma, an assistant professor at the CMP, degree college has alleged that Sehwag and his partner Siddharth were neither granting him franchise nor returning the Rs 2.4 lakh they had accepted for the purpose," Ram Adhar, an Inspector in Civil Lines Police Station said.

The police inspector said that Sharma, who owns a shop inside a mall in Civil Lines, had come across a newspaper advertisement in 2006 in which Siddharth had invited bids for the franchise of the restaurant owned by Sehwag.

Sharma claimed he paid them Rs 2.4 lakh in a couple of installments after which a contract for granting him the franchise was also signed, the officer said.

However, Sharma alleges that he was not granted the franchise even after two years. Sharma said he asked for refund but Siddharth declined, following which he lodged the complaint with police.

The inspector, however, made it clear that no FIR has been registered in this connection as the matter required "thorough investigation beforehand".

"Although the complainant lives in Allahabad and had given the money to set up a restaurant here, the contract and other formalities had been completed at Delhi, therefore if a case is registered in this connection, technically it will have to be there," he said.