India’s star bowler Mohammed Shami’s wife Hasin Jahan has said the family feels insure in Kolkata after being repeatedly threatened by locals over small issues such as car parking and papayas.
Jahan told The Telegraph after the Team India fast bowler was abused in front of his Jadavpur home on Saturday night and then told he would be taught a lesson if he dared step out because his BMW car had allegedly blocked the bike of a local youth.
Three were arrested on Monday for abusing Shami and the building's guard. One of the suspects, Jayanta Sarkar, runs a meat shop by day and performs kirtan in the evening. His brother and co-accused Swarup Sarkar runs a hair salon. The third accused, Shivam Pramanik, used to work at the salon until this week, the daily reported.
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"We have always felt insecure here...we have been disturbed time and again, be it over a parking issue or other small matters. The only consolation is knowing that they will not be able to harm us since Shami holds a position in society," Hasin Jahan told The Telegraph.
"He (Shivam) tapped on my window and started shouting why I was taking so long to park my car. I asked him what his problem was and said that if auto-rickshaws could pass through the remaining road space, why a bike could not," Shami, who plays for Bengal in domestic cricket, said on Saturday.
After 15 minutes, the man returned with three others, this time on two bikes. They held the guard by his collar and demanded to know where he (Shami) was. Another man, who accompanised Shivam, banged on the door of Shami’s house for some time. The group then left after threatening the cricketer.
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A person close to Shami’s family, on the condition of anonymity, told Bengali newspaper ABP: “He has been living here for a long time now. We never had any problems with him or his family. In fact, he does not behave like a celebrity at all. We often find him in front of the local chat centre. His daughter plays around in the park. So it is hard to believe something like this would happen to them.”
The Telegraph reported, quoting sources, a team from Jadavpur police station had previously visited 128 Prince Golam Mohammad Shah Road to settle a papaya dispute. The papaya tree still stands in the common area of the small compound that houses 12 apartments. The Shami family lives on the first floor of the G+3 building in this narrow lane behind South City Mall.
This is not first time though when a member of Shami’s family has come under the scanner. Last year, Shami's wife was trolled on the social media for not wearing hijab.
