Hyderabad: The South Zone police on Monday rescued a 17-year-old minor girl and arrested an Omani national, who allegedly attempted a contract marriage with her. Police said the accused Omani national, Al Balushi Badar Yousuf, 37, is a flower merchant in Oman. The victim, 17, is a school dropout and belongs to a very poor family.
The Omani came to Hyderabad on a tourist visa on July 18. He stayed at Hotel Hanshu Grand at Hyderguda and contacted the victim’s family through mediator Ayesha Begum, 32, of Hyderabad.
Ayesha had already trapped the victim’s parents and lured them into a contract marriage. They accepted a contract marriage for three months. The deal was fixed at Rs 30,000.
On July 28, the Omani and the mediator visited the victim’s house. Yousuf gave Rs 30,000 to the girl’s father for marriage expenses.
Ayesha hid details of the contract marriage from the victims and told them that Yousuf will take their daughter to Oman after three months. Ayesha demanded Rs 20,000 from the victim’s family as service charge for arranging the marriage. “The parents immediately accepted her demand as they were happy that their daughter’s life would be better in Oman” said South Zone DCP V.Satyanarayana.
On August 2, a police patrol noticed a big gathering in front of the victim’s house and came to know that the minor girl was being married against her will. Police rescued the girl and registered a case under Sections 354, 420 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage act and Criminal Amendment Act 2013.
“In most contract marriages women are the mediators. We are constantly monitoring the movement of Arab sheiks and Khazis who perform contract marriages,” added the DCP.
