Hyderabad cops bust international bride racket

A  Muslim girl-trafficking racket taking place in the guise of marriage to rich Gulf nationals was busted by the city police on Friday. Nine persons were arrested in two separate incidents.

Parading the accused before the media, V Satyanarayana Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Zone) said Mohamed Mahmood Abdul Rehman Mahmood, his brother Yousuf Mahmood Abdul Rahman Mahmood Khairi (Bahrain nationals), Askar Ali Rafai, a qazi and lodge owner Barkathullah Sharif were taken into custody.  

The Bhavani Nagar police received a complaint from one Kulsum Begum on October 30 that she got her second daughter Sameena Begum (29) married to Rehman Mahmood (50) in May. The marriage was performed by Qazi Rafai at King Koti. After the marriage,  the girl was taken to Bahrain as a maid servant and subjected to sexual abused by the Bahrain brothers. She was later sent back to India.

A few days ago, the Bahrain brothers returned and were planning to marry a minor girl from Talabkatta area with the help of the same qazi. The police which kept a strict vigil came to know that the qazi was planning to perform the marriage at Tolichowki on Friday. They also knew that the Bahrain brothers were sheltered by hotel Safa Tower owner Barkathulla Sharif. On a tip off, the police raided the lodge and arrested the Bahrain nationals and rescued the girl. A case has been filed  under Section 370 and 420 of the Indian Penal Code against the accused.

In another case, police arrested five brokers, including two women, for their involvement in trafficking of a 14-year-old girl three years ago. Salma Begum lodged a complaint with the Falaknuma police on November 9 that she got her minor daughter married to an Arab Sheikh Sagharoun Salim Abdallah (64) from Oman in October 2014, under the influence of brokers Bipasha Bee, Rahseeda Bee and Shaheen, besides two other agents – Naser Bin Mahmood and Father Bin Mahmood.  The Omani paid Rs 1 lakh to the agents who swindled Rs 40,000 and gave the remaining amount to the girl's family. The agents also manipulated documents to show that the girl was a major and arranged a passport for her.

After spending 10 days with the girl, the Omani national went back to his country and then sent her a visa. The girl was subject to sexual harassment and physical torture. In March this year, she returned to India. However, the Omani national started threatening her over phone and the girl ultimately returned to him in July. She was abused again and police said they took action after the girl's mother lodged a complaint.