Police on Monday seized the passport of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik and asked him not to leave the country as they questioned him in the wake of a complaint of cheating lodged by the father of a local girl Ayesha Siddiqui claiming that she was married to him.
29-year-old Ayesha was also questioned by Hyderabad Police which is trying to verify authenticity of the 'nikahnama' cited by the Siddiqui family and that of the photo showing her along with 28-year-old Shoaib, a senior police officer said.
The case has been transferred to Central Crime Station, a wing of the city police, he said, adding that Shoaib has been asked not to leave the country.
Shoaib told a police team this morning at the Jubilee Hills residence of 23-year-old tennis star Sania Mirza that he had been tricked into marriage with Ayesha.
"The city police questioned Shoaib Malik for one-and-a-half hours and they have also seized his passport. Immigration authorities have been informed about the case filed against Malik and his passport seizure," Additional Commissioner of Police (Coordination) Dwarka Tirumala Rao said.
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Rao said, "As part of the investigation, a police team visited Sania's residence today. We are probing the matter."
The team reached this morning the posh Jubilee Hill residence of Sania where Shoaib has been staying since his arrival here on Saturday following a complaint lodged by the father of Ayesha, Mohammed Siddiqui yesterday at the Banjara Hill police station.
Sania and Shoaib are scheduled to get married here on April 15.
"We are trying to collect evidence. Shoaib is cooperating and Sania is supporting him. They say they know the truth behind the whole issue," a police official said after the team talked to the cricketer.
During questioning, Shoaib told the police that he had been "cheated" by the Siddiqui family and tricked into marriage, he said.
The Pakistani cricketer had yesterday claimed that he was emotionally forced into the 'nikahnama' with the Hyderabad girl but said the marriage was invalid as her family had cheated him and ruled out divorce.
He said to this day he has not met the girl whose photographs were sent to him by the Siddiqui family purported to be that of Ayesha.
The charges against Shoaib are that of harassment of Ayesha, cheating to marry another girl and criminal intimidation including threats to her to keep quiet, according to Hyderabad Police Commissioner A K Khan. Ayesha's father in his complaint, which was lodged hours after Shoaib yesterday confirmed his marriage with Sania, had accused the Pakistani cricketer of cheating his daughter.
The Banjara Hills police said that a case under Sections 420 (cheating), 498-A (dowry harassment) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of IPC has been registered against Shoaib and they will take up the investigation after verifying facts of the complaint.
Khan said an FIR has been made out and it would be followed by collection of evidence and taking legal advice since Shoaib is a Pakistani national.
"The Banjara Hills police have received a complaint by Ayesha Siddiqui against Shoaib Malik. We have registered a case against Shoaib. Now we will take legal opinion quickly before taking further action," Rao had said.
He said there were some legal complications involved in the case and they "will have to examine whether a foreigner committing an offence on a foreign soil comes under the purview of IPC or not".
"The legal opinion will be taken quickly and we will proceed further as the marriage is on April 15," he added.
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