KOLKATA: India pacer Md Shami has been summoned for questioning at the Lalbazar police headquarters on Wednesday, the same day his elder brother Haseeb Ahmed is set to appear before the cops.This is the first time the police have summoned the cricketer for questioning after his estranged wife Hasin Jahan lodged an FIR on March 9 against him and five of his family members making several allegations including attempt to murder, poisoning, rape and dowry harassment.The summons for Shami to appear before the women’s grievance cell of the detective department at 2pm was handed over at the Delhi Daredevils team hotel through his “mana-ger”. Shami, whose whereabouts were not known, didn’t accompany his teammates who flew out of the city on Tuesday afternoon, his team confirmed.His brother has been told to report for questioning around noon, two hours before Shami. Police refused to reveal whether the brothers would be questioned together.The Shami camp, however, remained ambiguous on whether he will respond to the summons though Lalbazar was confident about his appearance. “Md Shami has been asked to come to Lalbazar for investigation,” said joint CP (Crime) Praveen Tripathi. “So far, we have not received any letter from him. We have spoken to his lawyer in and he has indicated that Shami will be available for questioning,” a senior officer said.A close acquaintance of Shami, however, didn’t rule out Shami seeking more time from police. “He is part of a team now playing a tournament which has a gruelling schedule. His next match is on Saturday in Bangalore. He needs to be physically and mentally fit. His team can also have a say in the matter,” he said.A lawyer had earlier indicated that the cricketer would seek time till the end of IPL and assured the police of full cooperation. It was also being speculated in some quarters that Shami may have contacted some top lawyers in Kolkata to seek anticipatory bail. These, however, could not be corroborated. Shami remained unavailable for comment.Shami had on several occasions in the past refuted the charges against him even hinting that Haseen may have fabricated evidence.The FIR lodged by his wife details a week-long stay with her in-laws at Amroha (UP) in December 2017, where she was reportedly subjected to torture and abuse.A police team had camped in UP’s Amroha for a week and recorded statements of 12 people. This includes a statement by Shami’s maternal uncle.Police said the decision to question Shami was taken following the due process of law. “We have recorded Hasin’s statement. She has also recorded her statement before a magistrate. Hence, it is important we speak to Shami in this regard,” said an officer.“Shami has not provided us any documents so far, nor have we asked those from him,” said an officer at Lalbazar.

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