Ayesha piles up ‘proof’ but Sania, Pak stand by Shoaib Malik

A day after Ayesha Siddiqui, the ‘first wife’ of former Pakistan skipper Shoaib Malik, lodged a formal complaint charging him with harassment and cheating, the police on Monday questioned the cricketer and seized his passport and mobile phone. Though an immediate arrest is unlikely, Hyderabad police chief AK Khan said it could happen depending on the facts emerging from the investigation.

The Pakistan government, meanwhile, has officially announced its support to Malik, saying it was ready to defend him against any possible aggression by Indian authorities. The cricketer, who is set to marry Indian tennis star Sania Mirza on April 15, on his part insisted on Monday that he was innocent and would not leave India until he was cleared of the charges.

The police, who have slapped three sections — 498A, 420 and 506 — of the Indian Penal Code on Malik, have already alerted the international gateways to keep a watch in case he tries to sneak out. A high-level team of police officials questioned Malik at the Mirza residence on Monday morning. The police expect to find some key evidence from his passport and mobile.

“The complaint (given by Ayesha) also talked about Malik coming to Hyderabad several times. To verify this, we need his passport,” police commissioner Khan said.

Though the police officials are tight-lipped on what transpired during the questioning, sources said the cricketer denied signing the nikahnama produced by Ayesha’s family and claimed that the signature on it was forged. Sources also said that the Mirzas, too, spoke to the officials and tried to vouch for Malik.

The police team also recorded a statement from Ayesha during the day.

According to sources, she handed over several evidences to prove that Malik had indeed married her and that she also suffered a miscarriage after the marriage. The Siddiquis apparently handed over a CD containing some photographs, scanned documents, including details of the hotels Malik and Ayesha were put up after the marriage, and some recordings of telephonic conversations.

“Malik visited Ayesha 14 times since the marriage. It is a fact that there was a miscarriage after the marriage with Malik. We have all the evidence to prove that everything Ayesha has mentioned in the police complaint is the absolute truth,” Ayesha’s lawyer S Babar said. She has also provided medical evidence to the investigators to prove that there was a miscarriage.

Considering the complexity of the case, the police authorities have transferred the case to the central crime station (CCS).  They have identified about 15 witnesses to be examined. In addition, to check the veracity of denials made by Malik, the copies of the nikahnama and the telephonic conversations submitted by Ayesha are likely to be sent for forensic examination.

“We are allowing the investigation to happen at its pace. We can’t set a timeframe for the investigation. It might take days or weeks to come to a shape. What comes out of investigation will also decide the future course of action,’’ said Khan.

Official sources, however, said there was no scope of any compromise between the parties in this case. “It’s definitely going to be a long drawn process. It’s a case involving two countries now. We may have to examine some witnesses across the border. The case also involves the laws relating to a particular religion,” an official source said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s foreign office spokesman Abdul Basit told reporters that the Pakistan high commission in Delhi was in touch with the Indian authorities and had already asked for details about the FIR against Malik. Basit said the Indian police seem to have over reacted by seizing Malik’s passport after questioning him for hours.