Hyderabad , April 5: The Hyderabad police claims it has found enough prima facie evidence to arrest Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik in the cheating and harassment case filed by his alleged wife Ayesha Siddiqui, but it is yet to take a decision on when (and if) the arrest will take place.
Police officers are in consultation with the Andhra Pradesh government, which in turn is seeking the opinion of the Centre — particularly the ministries of home and external affairs — before taking any further steps.
Highly-placed sources said senior police officers are discussing the pros and cons as well as the legal implications of arresting the Pakistani cricketer, who is scheduled to marry tennis star Sania Mirza here on April 15.
The police had earlier transferred the Shoaib-Ayesha investigation to the detective department of its central crime station (CCS) after questioning both of them. While Shoaib reiterated his innocence, Ayesha claimed that she had undergone an abortion.
The police, after questioning the Pakistani cricketer at the Jubilee Hills residence of tennis star Sania Mirza, also seized his passport. Additional commissioner of police (coordination) D.Tirumala Rao said: “Shoaib’s passport was seized for investigation. It has not been impounded.”
Sania was sitting near Shoaib during the one-and-a-half-hour-long questioning. Shoaib told the police that Ayesha’s family had duped him.
The police plans to send the nikahnama furnished by Ayesha to the Andhra Pradesh Forensic Science Laboratory to verify the genuineness of Shoaib’s signature. The lab was shut on Monday. Lab director O.N. Murthy said: “We can finalise the report in three to four days.”
The police also recorded the statement of Ayesha Siddiqui at her residence. She told them she had an “intimate relationship” with Shoaib and had to undergo an abortion.
In the FIR, the police has named Shoaib as “A-1”. None of his family members has been named.
All the case documents have been handed over to the CCS, said Banjara Hills assistant commissioner of police R. Ravinder Reddy, who led the team that questioned Shoaib.
Additional commissioner of police (crimes) Narasimha Reddy is now monitoring the case.
U. Sudhakar Reddy