PHOTO: AFP
NEW DELHI: Indian police have booked international tennis star Maria Sharapova for cheating homebuyers in a luxury housing project near Delhi.
Sharapova endorsed the housing project in Gurgaon, a city on the outskirts of the national capital, and had even come down to India in 2013 to meet prospective buyers. But the project -- Ballet by Sharapova -- never took off.
"The tennis star has now been booked for cheating and criminal conspiracy by Delhi Police, following a local court's order. An aggrieved homebuyer had approached the court," a police official said Monday.
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"The developers of the project have also been booked under similar charges. However, no one has been arrested in the case yet," he added.
The homebuyer had alleged in her complaint to the court that she was "lured" by the developers of the residential project, which was supposed to be completed in 2016.
"Sharapova not only aggressively promoted the fraudulent activities of the accused, but also supported the project in the eyes of the general public and is, therefore, a part of this criminal conspiracy," she told the court.
The next date of hearing in the case is Nov. 23.
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