A Pakistani socialite Maira Khurram is on the run after Pakistan police from Sindh province announced to arrest her with model Sophia Mirza and her Tennis playing sister Maryam Mirza over a Bollywood mujra dance at a wedding party.
The story has amazed and shocked Pakistani showbiz industry as the three women in the wanted list of the police are well-known and the police hunt has created quite a buzz in the media industry of Pakistan.
According to details, a case of fraud was registered against actress Sophia Mirza, Maryam Mirza and their manager and friend Maira Khurram for taking money to perform dance (mujra) at a wedding event for 150000 Lakh Rupees but not showing up at the event. Maira Khurram is known in Lahore and Islamabad circles as a fixer for Bollywood style dance events and organises events in various parts of the country where dances are performed on Bollywood steamy songs.
Local resident Sanaullah Mahessar registered the case under FIR No. 226/2022 at Police Station A-Section District Sukkur Under Section 154 CR.P.C against Sophia Mirza, Maryam Mirza and Maira Khurram.
According to details of the First Information Report (FIR) and confirmation by the local police investigation officer, Sophia Mirza, Maryam Mirza and Maira Khurram took 10 lakh Rupees in advance to perform dance at the wedding last month at Otaq Guest House in Bairaj Colony Sukkur but not only the dancers didn’t turn up but also issued threats to him later on through gangsters.
Sanaullah Mahessar said in his complaint he decided to book the three after meeting the trio at a recently held dance event where Lahore-based Sophia Mirza and Maryam Mirza were the lead performances on Bollywood dance numbers.
Sanaullah Mahessar says he made the booking through Maira Khurram who arranged meeting with Maryam Mirza and Sophia Mirza (daughters of Muhammad Latif Mirza) where it was agreed that they will do the one-night performance for 15 Lakh Rupees and will bring other women too with them.
The complainant said: “Trusting them, we gave 10 lakh rupees to Maryam Mirza, Maira Khurram and Khoshabat in front of witness Mukhtar Hussain, son of Ghulam Farid Soomro, and Muhammad Waris, son of Muhammad Ayyub Mirani, resident of Sharafabad Sukkur. We decided that further payment will be made on the day of the programme. On the day of the marriage program, they all did not come. We kept calling but they did not respond.”
Sanaullah Mahessar said he called Maira Khurram to demand the return of the money and she promised someone will meet him to return the money.
He complained that on 27 November 2022 an unknown woman and five men came to meet him at 1715 hours 5 at the agreed place of meeting. “Three of them pointed pistols at us and said to us if you demand money from Maira Khurram, Maryam Mirza and Khushbakht Mirza then you will meet a very bad fate. They threatened to beat us to death and left the house in a white color car while shouting abuse. I have appeared at the police station after consulting with my elders, I claim that legal action should be taken against the culprits,” said the complainant.
According to details the Sindh Home Department has asked the Punjab government to cooperate with the Sindh Police for the arrest and investigation of actress Sophia Mirza, her Tennis player-sister Maryam Mirza and their manager and partner Maira Khurram in the Bollywood dance mujra financial fraud investigation.
In a letter to the Home Department of Punjab, the Sindh Home Department has asked the Punjab Police to cooperate with the Sindh police officers who are interested in arresting Maira Khurram, Sophia Mirza and Tennis player Maryam Mirza to take them to Sukkur, where the fraud took place, so they could be investigated over the fraud.
According to reports in Pakistani media, the Sindh Home Department has informed the Punjab Home Department that the permission to arrest and prosecute Sophia Mirza, Maryam Mirza (whose real name is Khushbakhat Mirza) and Maira Khurram has been granted on request by the Inspector General of Sindh Police vide letter No. 664-66/AIGP/OPS-I/(PP-13)/2023 dated 06.01.2023 that the accused trio are required in the case.
The letter from Sindh government says: “The request of Inspector General of Police Sindh, Karachi is forwarded/recommended for providing the necessary assistance regarding the arresting/shifting of above accused in accordance with law after fulfillment of all legal/codal formalities, under intimation to this Department (if the said accused are not involved/required in any other case or otherwise within the Punjab Province /any Court of law. A police party headed by ASI/I.O Lal Dino Mahar, PC-1882 Muhammad Qasim, PC-3400 Shahid Hussain and two Lady Constables of Women Cell District Sukkur alongwith police party of Police Station A- Section District Sukkur, Sindh has been deputed for the purpose.”
Last week, the Deputy Inspector General of Sukkur Range Police had sought permission for the police to arrest actress Sophia Mirza and her tennis player sister Maryam Mirza in relation to the fraud allegations related to a wedding dance event in Sukkur to perform on Bollywood dance items.
Last week it was reported that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has re-started a high profile money-laundering investigation into actress and model Sophia Mirza, which was shut down earlier by Shahzad Akbar after he became head of FIA under the Assets Recovery Unit (ARU).
The actress and her sister Mariam Mirza had been accused in 2012 of abducting a girl Fatima who had testified in the court both sisters had kidnapped her.
FIA sources have said that Sophia Mirza used former PM Imran Khan’s Interior and Accountability advisor Shahzad Akbar to stop the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) from pursuing a money-laundering investigation against her, senior officials of the agency revealed.
The FIA officers confirmed that evidence of money-laundering against Sophia Mirza was overwhelming but Shehzad Akbar allegedly barred the FIA investigators from concluding the cases against the model.