Court orders probe into Lee non-payment

Mumbai: A local court on Tuesday directed the police to investigate the complaint of non-payment of Rs 10 lakh to Australian pacer Brett Lee for a concert held in the city last year.

"Perused complaint... Before taking cognizance it is necessary to investigate... PSO, MRA Marg Police Station is directed to investigate and file a report in three months," the magistrate's order said.

Next Level Media Communications, which represents Lee here, had moved the court with a complaint against Arundhati Deshmukh, Ameya Naik and Vignesh Vishwanth, the members of music band M Majors, over alleged non-payment of dues of Rs 10 lakh to Lee.

A local court in Mumbai directed the police to investigate the complaint of non-payment of Rs 10 lakhs to Brett Lee.

According to the complaint, an orchestra had been arranged at Inorbit Mall in Malad last May when Lee was in the city. However, after the event, where Lee sang, the agreed amount was not paid to Next Level Media Communications (NLMC).

"We hope that the MRA Marg Police will now kickstart the investigation and punish the culprits. Lee has been closely watching the developments and seeking justice," said Samir Phadnis, COO, NLMC.

Naik, reacting to the order, said, "They are trying to frame us and it's highly unprofessional behaviour on their part.

Last year, the sessions court had directed the police that Naik and two others should be given 72 hours notice if police wanted to arrest them.

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