Indian police Monday seized the passport of the Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Malik – soon to wed Indian tennis player Sania Mirza – and questioned him in connection with allegations that he already has a wife, officers said. Two of South Asia's best known sports personalities, Malik and Mirza planned to marry in April and settle in Dubai. But in a case whose twists and turns have gripped India, a woman called Ayesha Siddiqui filed a police case against Malik claiming the two married in 2002 and has demanded a divorce. “The case is under investigation. We have come here for investigations,” said Assistant Commissioner of Police R. Ravinder Reddy Monday. Malik said he had fully co-operated with police and he accused Siddiqui of lying in order to gain “cheap popularity”. “This woman must prove all those things she is saying and I am here to answer all the questions,” he said. “I have not done anything wrong,” Malik told reporters, standing alongside Sania Mirza in front of her house. Mirza defended her husband-to-be, saying he had never kept her “in the dark” about Siddiqui. “If there is anything for him to prove, he can prove it,” she said. “But it is unfair for her to say these things without proof, and it is very painful for our families.” “It is a preliminary investigation. The Siddiqui family have lodged a complaint and police are verifying the facts,” Andhra Pradesh state police chief R.R. Girish Kumar said. The police have also alerted Indian airports not to allow the cricketer to leave the country. Malik arrived in India last week and is staying at Mirza's house.
