Hyderabad: The police nabbed a 42-year-old Omani on Thursday who was about to enter into a contract marriage with his 17-year-old minor relative.
The Omani, Al Alawi Salah Faiz Zuma, who is working for a private firm in Oman, came to Hyderabad on April 4 to marry the girl.
South zone DCP V. Satyanarayana said that Al Alawi Salah Fais Zuma often visited India to meet his relatives at the Gazi-E-Millath colony in Chandrayanagutta. On April 4, he came to Hyderabad on a tourist visa and visited his relative's house.
His relative had a 17-year-old daughter who was a school dropout. As her parents were labourers she could not continue her studies. “During the visit a proposal to get her married to Al Alawi came up and the family agreed to this,” Mr Satyanarayana said.
Khazi Habeeb Ali of Errakunta agreed to perform the ceremony and the marriage was scheduled for Thursday. After receiving a tip-off south zone police conducted a raid and apprehended the Omani national and the khazi.
“It is learnt that the girl's parents agreed to the marriage due to poverty. We are still checking if it was a contract marriage and the amount of money involved,” Mr Satyanarayana added.
A case of cheating and a case under the Child Marriage Prevention Act was registered against Al Alawi and Khazi Habeeb Ali. The police is investigating the case.
