Criminal case booked against Shoaib Malik

HYDERABAD: The city police on Sunday booked a criminal case against Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. The case under Sections 420 (cheating), 498-A (harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) were booked against Shoaib based on a complaint lodged by Ayesha Siddiqui, who claimed to have married the cricketer.

“As there are legal complications in the case, we are taking the opinion of legal experts for initiating quick action against Malik,” said Additional Commissioner of Police (Co-ordination) Dwaraka Tirumal Rao.

In the complaint, Ayesha alleged that Shoaib was threatening her to accept before the media that she was not married to him. She said Shoaib had married her but now claimed he did not, in order to marry tennis player Sania Mirza. Ayesha's father Mohammed Siddiqui lodged the complaint at Banjara Hills police station on behalf of his daughter.

The Additional Commissioner said: “If an Indian commits an offence abroad also, he is liable for punishment under the Indian Penal Code (IPC). In this case, the offence was committed out of India by a foreigner. So we are taking legal opinion for necessary action.”