Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mohammed Shami: Personal relationships in the middle of a big legal storm?

In the past few days, India has witnessed two high-profile marriages coming under public spotlight-- that of Bollywood actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui and wife Anjali (name changed to Aaliya), and Indian fast-bowler Mohammed Shami and wife Hasin Jahan. Murky details of personal trouble have emerged, thereby exposing the private lives of the celebrities to public scrutiny. Though the allegations in both the cases are strikingly different, there is one similarity that binds the two together and that is the fact that both allegations pertain to the wrongdoings vis-a-vis their respective spouses.

Here’s what we know so far in the sensational cases of Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Mohammed Shami that have caught the nation’s attention:

Nawazuddin Siddiqui in #BollywoodSnoopgate?

1. On Saturday, Republic TV learnt that Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s lawyer Rizwan Siddiqui admitted to snooping on the actor’s wife at the behest of his brother Shamas Nawab Siddiqui and blamed the family for the snoopgate.
2. Thane Police has not ruled out Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s role in the alleged Call Data Record (CDR) racket that was unearthed in January. If Nawazuddin’s role in the snoopgate is proven, it would raise serious questions on the motive behind the actor’s alleged decision.
3. The police confirmed that Nawazuddin’s lawyer had paid a detective Rs 50,000 to source the CDR of his wife. Rizwan had allegedly obtained the CDR from private detectives. Police suspect Rizwan could have done it at the behest of the Bollywood actor.
4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui’s wife Anjali, however, rubbished the allegations against her husband and said that the truth will be out soon.
5. Last week, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and his wife Anjali, along with Rizwan, were summoned by Thane's crime branch in connection with the CDR racket.

It has to be noted that in October 2017, Nawazuddin Siddiqui had written a memoir, An Ordinary Life, in which he detailed his relationships and flings with former Miss India Niharika Singh and actor Sunita Rajwar. He later issued an apology for hurting their sentiments and for naming them without their consent. He also withdrew the book.

Mohammed Shami accused of infidelity and match-fixing. Here’s what we know so far:

1. Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami found himself in the midst of a raging controversy on March 7 after his wife Hasin Jahan accused him of mental and physical assault and having extra-marital affairs. Shami, however, refuted all the allegations. An FIR was lodged against Mohammed Shami on March 9 after a written complaint was filed by the fast bowler's wife.
2. Shami’s wife also claimed that he allegedly forced her to have physical relations with his brother. As quoted by a media report, she also claimed that Shami had physical relations with sex workers while on cricket tours.
3. Hasin Jahan, the bowler’s wife, also levelled match-fixing allegations against the cricketer following which the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) asked BCCI to probe the charges. Reacting to the accusations, Shami said that if found guilty, he was ready to be hanged to death.
4. In what blew up as a spat in full public glare, Mohammed Shami then claimed that his wife lied to him about her first marriage and daughters from that marriage. Shami had said that Jahan allegedly introduced her daughters to him as her nieces.
5. Amidst the controversy, when BCCI’s CoA announced the new contracts for its players for the year, one thing that caught everyone’s eye was the exclusion of pacer Mohammed Shami. BCCI did not award Shami any contract and was excluded from all categories. It is still unclear as to whether the BCCI held back Shami’s contract because of the allegations against him by his wife or was it because of his unavailability for majority of last year due to a prevailing injury.

With more developments expected to take place in both the cases, the news is unlikely to die down anytime soon. After Bollywood actors Hrithik Roshan and Kangana Ranaut’s ugly spat looks like the glamour world of entertainment and cricket has witnessed its biggest scandals so far-- wherein personal relationships are in the eye of a big legal battle.