Shoaib doesn’t want anticipatory bail, says his lawyer

NEW DELHI - A lawyer for Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik Monday said that Malik had told him not to file for anticipatory bail since he was cooperating with the Hyderabad police’s investigations into the complaint by Ayesha Siddiqui, who claims to be his wife.

“I have talked to Shoaib and he said that he is cooperating with the police and that there was no need of filing an anticipatory bail application,” Ramesh Gupta told reporters here.

Earlier in the day, the cricketer insisted he was innocent and would not leave India until he was cleared of charges of marrying Ayesha that emerged soon after the announcement of his April 15 marriage to Indian tennis star Sania Mirza.

Shoaib has rejected Ayesha’s demand for a divorce, saying he signed a ‘nikahnama’ or marriage document for marrying a girl whose photographs she had been sending.

Gupta said that any legal action against Ayesha would be decided Tuesday when Malik’s brother-in-law Imran Malik arrives in Delhi. He confirmed that the cricketer’s passport had been seized.

Ayesha Sunday lodged a police complaint in Hyderabad against Malik for cheating her and going ahead with his second marriage with Mirza without divorcing her. She filed the complaint under sections 498 A (harassment), 420 (cheating) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Questioning the basis of the case lodged by the police, Gupta said: “If the marriage had taken place, only then would section 498 A be applicable. But in this case, it is a perfect case of mistaken identity.”

The lawyer further added that if the marriage between Ayesha-Shoaib took place, then how could a case of cheating be lodged.