Asad Rauf admits photos with model real, denies relationship

Mumbai/Islamabad: Pakistani umpire Asad Rauf, who has been accused by a Mumbai-based model of sexually exploiting her on the pretext of marrying her, has admitted that photographs of the two posing together were real, but denied having any relationship with her.

Rauf, an ICC elite panel upmire, told Pakistani media that the model Leena Kapoor had taken pictures with him by posing as a fan. Kapoor, 21, forced him into recommending her for the reality TV show "Bigg Boss" as he has good relations with people in Bollywood, Rauf told a Pakistani news channel. "But the show`s organisers said that they do not accept entries via recommendations or references, so I ended contact with her," he said. "All I can say at the moment is that there is no truth in these allegations. I cannot make such relations at the ripe old age of 56," Rauf said. In Mumbai, Kapoor gave a written complaint to Deputy Commissioner of Police Pratap Digaokar`s office in suburban Bandra on Monday alleging that she was sexually abused by Rauf on several occasions in Sri Lanka as well as in India, this year. Digaokar said the complaint was received by him and he has forwarded it to the Versova police station, which has begun an enquiry in the matter. According to Kapoor, she meets Rauf in Sri Lanka in March this year through a common friend and the two exchanged their telephone numbers. "Then we became very good friends following which Rauf had even proposed to marry me. He had also come to Mumbai when I was not well," Kapoor told PTI. Rauf had introduced her to many people in Delhi "as his wife", Kapoor claimed. "Rauf told me that his community allows him to marry more than one woman. Rauf has a wife and two children. I believed him and also freely moved with him," Kapoor, born and brought up in Delhi, said. "But when recently I called him up, he completely refused to recognise me," she said. "Since the last 10 days he has not been answering my calls. Later, he called me up saying he does not want to keep any relationship with me," she said. On photos circulated in the media, she said, "I have more pictures of us. How can he say that there is no relationship between us? The pictures speak for themselves. How can he lie? God knows why he is lying." Kapoor also said, "He (Rauf) wanted to meet my parents and talk to them." Asked about her complaint against Rauf, Kapoor said, "I have filed rape charges against him. He has tortured me mentally and physically. I am hopeful I will get justice. He is a coward. I treated him like my husband." Leena has appeared in commercial advertisements for a jeans company, a hair oil brand alongwith actress Gracy Singh and others. Refuting Kapoor`s claim, Rauf said she was making allegations against him to gain "cheap publicity" and that it was a move to defame Pakistan. "I can only speak in detail following permission by the International Cricket Council as I am the body`s contracted official," he told The Express Tribune newspaper. Making it clear that there will be no change in his umpiring schedule; Rauf said he would visit India in January for an India-England series. A close aide of Rauf hinted at the possibility of legal action against the model. Rauf was upset because he was defamed without any evidence, the aide said. PTI