Two missing women cricketers rejoin team

Two of the five women cricketers who went missing in England, Rajwant Kaur and Parvesh Rani, have returned to Hounslow. They are likely to be questioned about their disappearance, as well as the continued absence of the other three.

The police denied that charges had been registered against anybody, even as rumours abounded that Ravi Sharma, the team's manager, was being investigated. Sharma himself told The Hindustan Times: "I contacted all their parents soon after they went missing. Rajwant and Parvesh's parents were helpful and said they would do everything to contact the girls."

"Finally they gave me the contact number of the two girls. I told them over the phone that they should return immediately, and that they have committed no crime. They said they were scared that I would be very angry," said Sharma. "But I told them I will say nothing to them. Some other girls of the team also spoke to them on the phone and persuaded them to return. They then returned on Monday morning at 11.30 am."

Sharma claimed that the returned women had no information as to the whereabouts of the other three. Kaur and Rani have told Sharma, upon their return, that they had lost their way and that as they did not have his phone number, they went to stay with a relative.

"A person called Jaspal Singh Sidhu, claiming to be the solicitor for Baljit Kaur and Ekta, rang me and said that the two had a fight with me so they had gone and that he wanted their passports," said Sharma. "He said he was from Southall. So I asked him for his telephone number and address which he refused to give me. Instead he made an offer of £1500 for the passports. I clearly told him that I did not want the money; instead, I was worried about the girls' future. I also told him that the passports were with the police."

Technically, the visas of the women have not lapsed, so they are in the country legally, and the immigration officials cannot start a search for them.