After wife's revolt, Shami faces attempt to murder charge

Kolkata, March 9 - India pacer Mohammed Shami faces charges of attempting to murder his wife by poisoning her after the cricketer's wife Hasin Jahan accused him of physically and mentally torturing her and having extra-marital affairs, police said on Friday.

A First Information Report filed at the Jadavpur police station charges the cricketer and four others with various sections of the Indian Penal Code including attempt to murder, rape, criminal intimidation and causing hurt by means of poison.

"On the basis of a written complaint from Hasin Jahan, a case was recorded at the police station on March 8 against Shami and four others," a police official said.

Shami, 27, and his family have also been charged with subjecting his wife to cruelty, voluntarily causing hurt and acting in furtherance of common intention.

An emotionally drained Hasin Jahan made journalists listen to an audio clip where Shami purportedly accepts his infidelity.

"Yesterday Shami said that my mental condition is not stable," the anguished woman said.

"Till now, I have not given any contradictory statement. I made you listen to the recording where he has accepted all his extra-marital affairs. Now, whose mental condition is unstable, you judge," she said.

She went on: "I have suffered a lot. Previously, I did not get any help regarding this. I tried a lot. So I decided to post all of Shami's wrongdoing on FB (Facebook). I never had any intention of spreading dirt on FB or to entertain people. 

"This is my fight against his unacceptable acts," she added.

Hasin Jahan vented her ire over her posts being removed from Facebook, saying her intentions were to seek a way out of her prolonged suffering.

"I have tried to save many girls' lives by posting all of that. I tried to help boys not go the same way. But why did FB block my account and remove all the posts without my permission?

"My life has been spoiled. My future has gone down the drain, also my daughter's."

Asked if Shami's relatives or family contacted her during this period, Jahan said: "Shami's relatives did not help me when I was being tortured. They only told me to sacrifice as he is a man and has the license to play around. They knew everything."

Hasin Jahan said she tried to make peace with her star husband but the latter would never talk to her and repeatedly ignored her and their daughter.

"I tried to reconcile with him but he never used to answer my calls. He never cared about me and our daughter. He threatened to marry a second time."

Hasin Jahan had posted screenshots of Shami's alleged WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger conversations with multiple women on her Facebook account. She also uploaded photos and phone numbers of the women.

Hasin Jahan alleged that Shami and his family even tried to kill her.

"Everyone in their family used to torture me. His mother and brother used to abuse me. The torture continued till 2-3 in the morning. They even wanted to kill me," she alleged.

Shami, who hails from Uttar Pradesh and represents Bengal in domestic tournaments has denied the allegations, saying it was an attempt to derail his cricketing career.

IANS