**Indian police have seized the passport of Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik, who is to marry Indian tennis star Sania Mirza later this month.**They questioned Mr Malik over allegations that he is already married.
Police say they are conducting a preliminary investigation after the family of another Indian woman said he married her in 2002.
Mr Malik says he was deceived and that the marriage certificate presented by the family was a fake.
The BBC’s Sanjoy Majumder says the latest developments have cast a shadow over a wedding that has captivated the imagination of people in India and Pakistan.
‘Internet friendship’
Mr Malik is in the southern city of Hyderabad ahead of his planned wedding.
On Monday police questioned him in Ms Mirza’s house over charges filed against him by a woman who says she’s already married to him.
A police spokesman said that he has been asked to remain in India while the investigation is on.
In newspaper interviews over the weekend, Mr Malik admitted that he had developed a friendship over the internet with an Indian woman eight years ago and then married her over the telephone after they exchanged photographs.
But he says he eventually discovered that the photographs sent to him were of someone else.
“I was made to believe the girl in the photograph was the one I was speaking to,” he said in a statement.
“The truth is, I haven’t, to this day, met the girl in the photographs Ayesha sent me.”
Our correspondent says it is still not clear if his marriage is legally valid even under Islamic law.
Ms Mirza and Mr Malik got engaged last July, and their wedding was announced on Tuesday.
While celebrations will be held in both countries, the couple plan to live in Dubai and will continue to represent their respective countries in international sporting ties.This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.