India cricketer Mohammad Shami charged with domestic violence
9 March 2018
Top Indian cricketer Mohammad Shami has been charged with domestic violence following a complaint by his wife. Police say the 27-year-old fast bowler has also been charged under laws related to attempted murder, poisoning and criminal intimidation. Mr Shami was dropped from a list of contracted players for the national team announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on 8 March. He denied his wife's allegations earlier this week. The charges against the player, who has represented India 87 times in all formats of the game since 2012, carry prison terms of 10 years or more. Mr Shami's wife, Hasin Jahan, accused him earlier this week of adultery and domestic violence. On Tuesday, Ms Jahan posted a series of messages that Mr Shami had allegedly sent to women during their four-year marriage on her Facebook account. He had several affairs, she alleged, and "tortured [her] physically and mentally over and over again". The player, who has won 30 Test caps, dismissed the claims, calling them "part of a big conspiracy" against him and "an attempt to defame" him. "What is being said about my personal life is completely false," he wrote on Twitter. Ms Jahan has also filed a rape complaint against Mr Shami's elder brother. A BCCI supervisory committee said the allegations had put them in a difficult position. "We are in a bit of Catch 22," Vinod Rai, chairman of the committee, told cricket website ESPNcricinfo. "Ordinarily you would distinguish and say that is a personal issue and the contract is a professional issue. "But someone could easily point out and say this allegation is an unsavoury one and you are still rewarding him."
Mr Shami's wife, Hasin Jahan, accused him earlier this week of adultery and domestic violence. On Tuesday, Ms Jahan posted a series of messages that Mr Shami had allegedly sent to women during their four-year marriage on her Facebook account. He had several affairs, she alleged, and "tortured [her] physically and mentally over and over again". The player, who has won 30 Test caps, dismissed the claims, calling them "part of a big conspiracy" against him and "an attempt to defame" him. "What is being said about my personal life is completely false," he wrote on Twitter. Ms Jahan has also filed a rape complaint against Mr Shami's elder brother.
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How did the allegations emerge?
A BCCI supervisory committee said the allegations had put them in a difficult position. "We are in a bit of Catch 22," Vinod Rai, chairman of the committee, told cricket website ESPNcricinfo. "Ordinarily you would distinguish and say that is a personal issue and the contract is a professional issue. "But someone could easily point out and say this allegation is an unsavoury one and you are still rewarding him."
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What is the cricket board's position?