KOLKATA: Kolkata police, on Thursday, filed a chargesheet against Indian pacer
in a domestic abuse case. The
– who was part of the Indian team in the ODI series against Australia and is almost sure to make the World Cup squad – has been charged under IPC section 498A (husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) by the police.
The chargesheet, filed at the Alipore ACJM court, however, does not prevent Shami from representing his country, legal experts stated. The chargesheet was filed exactly a year and six days after his estranged wife
brought several criminal charges against him and lodged an FIR at the Jadavpur police station on March 8, 2018. The case was later taken over by the women’s’ grievance cell of the detective department which filed the FIR. Shami’s brother – Hasib Ahmed – too was named in the FIR and charged under IPC 498A and 354A (outraging the modesty of a woman).
However, the cricketer got some relief in the case with the police dropping more serious charges that were registered in the FIR, including sections 307 (attempt to murder), 376 (punishment for rape), 328 (causing hurt by means of poison) besides criminal intimidation. The names of Shami’s three other family members – his parents and sister-in-law – too have been dropped from the final chargesheet.
“We did not find evidence regarding the rape allegation during the course of the probe. We have cited over 25 witnesses in the chargesheet,” said Praveen Tripathi, joint CP (crime). Over the past year, Shami has been involved in a public spat with wife, who accused him of having extra-marital affairs, domestic violence and match-fixing. Hasin even took to social media to post screenshots of Shami’s alleged affairs with other women.
Hasin said that this was the first step towards getting justice. “The fact that the cops acknowledged my complaint shows that I was correct in going to the police. At a time when he (Shami) is in good form and the country is rooting for him, I am indebted to Kolkata police and the
administration for supporting me. However, I had provided all evidence to prove that that I was raped and an attempt was made to kill me. Hopefully, further investigations will establish the whole truth. I have full faith in God and the judiciary that I will get justice,” she told TOI.
Hasin maintained that she was not in contact with Shami anymore. “I am still struggling with my own career. It’s also time to get my daughter admitted to a good school. But it’s my belief that the truth will prevail.” Her lawyer Anirban Guha Thakurta said they would look in to the chargesheet. “We will study the chargesheet. We need to know why the more severe sections were dropped,” he said.
Shami’s lawyer Selim Rehman said that the fact that rape, attempt to murder and poisoning charges had been dropped showed that the charges brought were “concocted”.
Courtesy by: timesofindia
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