Wasim accused of stealing friend’s jeep

KARACHI: Pakistani police said yesterday they had registered a criminal case against leading cricketer Wasim Akram after he was accused of failing to pay for a jeep he had purchased from a former friend.

Police registered a case against the fast bowler after a complaint from his estranged friend Saadat Hayat, police inspector Hanif Qadri told Reuters. Qadri said Wasim had been accused of taking the jeep on the pretext of purchasing it, but had not paid for it. Wasim’s wife, Huma,denied the allegation and said the jeep was given as a gift. “There is no cheating involved,” she said by telephone from Lahore. “This happened three years ago. We wanted to return the vehicle a long time ago, but he refused to take it back and instead demanded an exorbitant sum against it.”

Wasim, Pakistan’s highest wicket-taker in Test matches and the world’s highest wicket-taker in limited over cricket, is in England playing for Hampshire after being dropped from the national team because of his poor World Cup performance. The vehicle is now in the possession of police, Huma said. Police said the case was registered under Section 406, which deals with misappropriation and breach of trust. Lawyers said anyone found guilty under this law can face up to three years in prison.