JOIN USFake contract marriages resurface in Hyderabad
The incident generated some awareness towards the plight of the poor, who sold off their unsuspecting girls–most of them minors–to unscrupulous agents in the guise of marriage, for money.
There would be agents and fake Qazis, and once the ‘marriage (nikah)’ was ‘consummated’, the girls would be given ‘talaq’ by their husbands who would fly back to their country, only to return and hunt for another unsuspecting prey.
The menace of such ‘contract marriages’ has surfaced once again, with Sudan nationals replacing the Arab Sheikhs.
The Hyderabad Police on Tuesday arrested Mohammed Ansari and Khaled, two Sudan nationals, along with Qazis and brokers for their involvement in contract marriages and eventual duping of teenage girls after spending time with them.
Deputy Commissioner of Police South Zone Vineet Brijlal told reporters that Naureen Begum (name changed) (16), a resident of Bela Colony in Sultan Shahi area complained that she was duped into marrying Mohammed Ansari by the brokers.
In her complaint, Naureen alleged that Ansari had also brought his Sudanese friend Khaled to live with them at an apartment in Khairatabad since their wedding on June 9 and that she was sexually abused. “The touts also took a share in the Rs.50,000 ‘meher’ allegedly paid to my mother and forcibly took my thumb impression on blank bond papers,” Naureen Begum, who has just completed her first -year Inter said.
The girl added that she was illegally confined in the apartment since the forcible nikah from where she had escaped and approached the police for help.
Police investigations revealed that the brokers Zahra Begum and Ghousia Begum had lured the two Sudanese students into contract marriage in collusion with two Qazis Shakeel and Mallik.
DCP Brijlal said that in the guise of contract marriage the arrested brokers were operating a sex racket. The bond paper upon which the girl’s thumb impression was obtained was shown as a divorce (khula) document granted by the bride to the groom, which could be made use whenever they left the country, thereby leaving the girl in the lurch, he said.
Police have confiscated the passports and booked a case u/s 366,366(A), 376,354,420,109 and 498-A read with 34 IPC against the Sudanese students, the brokers and the qazis.
Police say in spite of an awareness campaign, poverty had been driving the poor parents in old city and other parts of Hyderabad and neighbouring districts to such acts.
“Parents are advised to look into future of their children before giving in to such fake weddings by touts,” the DCP urged.