Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik reportedly told the Hyderabad police on Monday that he had neither seen nor met Ayesha Siddiqui, who has claimed to have married him.
In a statement recorded by the police following the registration of a criminal case against him at the Banjara Hills police station, after a complaint by Ms. Siddiqui, Mr. Malik told investigators that his association with her began with telephonic calls when he was in Dubai.
The association continued through emails and her photos sent to him online, the former skipper added. “I flew to Hyderabad three to four times but she was not home any time,” he said.
“Taken for a ride”
Mr. Malik contended that Ms. Siddiqui had taken him for a ride by sending photos of another woman.
Police sources said the cricketer maintained that he subsequently realised that the woman in the photos was already married and that they were not those of Ms. Siddiqui.
By then, he had sent a signed but blank ‘Nikahnama' to her, which she was using now to falsely claim a marriage that did not happen.
Interestingly, Ms. Siddiqui signed the Nikahnama dated June 3, 2002, as ‘Maha Siddiqui.'
Mr. Malik said he eventually learnt that Ms. Siddiqui was one among the women present during his visit to her house in Hyderabad, but had never disclosed her identity.
