Somalian national and three others including the broker arrested
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Hyderabad: South Zone police foiled a contract marriage in the old city by arresting a Somalian national and three others including the broker. Police rescued the 23-year-old woman who was about to be ‘sold’ to the man for a couple of weeks. Police arrested two women facilitators and the broker following a tip off from a quazi. The gang was searching for a quazi to perform the marriage, after two other quazis refused to do it.
The accused, Syed Ibrahim, 29, a native of Somalia who works in the US in a travel agency, came to Hyderabad to treat his mother. He met the broker. Wahab, who offered him some girls for a few weeks and they searched for quazis to perform the wedding. The two women accused, Shabhana Begum and Shahin Sulthana helped them to find the victim in the Falaknuma area.
DCP V. Satyanarayana said that Wahab met Shabhana and Shahin to earn easy money and hatched a plan to arrange contract marriages with poor women. The victim was introduced to Ibrahim for marriage, police said.
“He saw some women and choose the victim. They offered Rs 80,000 to the victim’s family to keep her for a couple of weeks. Since the family was poor they agreed,” said an official from Falaknuma police station.
Syed Ibrahim’s mother is undergoing treatment in Appolo Hospital and they were planning to leave India once it is over. His plan was to marry the woman, live with her as long as he is in Hyderabad and divorce her when he leaves, police said. However, the gang did not tell the victim that it was a contract marriage.
A day ago, the police invoked the PD Act against an organiser of contract marriages. Seeing the news, a quazi from Falaknuma told the police about the gang’s attempt to conduct the wedding.
In old city, the police had earlier busted several contract marriages. Many qazis and brokers were caught along with tourists from Arab and African countries. The agents usually meet tourists and fix a deal. They then hunt for girls from poor families in the old city.
( Source : dc correspondent )
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