Contract marriage racket: 3 more Oman nationals arrested for trafficking minor girls

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad Police on Tuesday arrested three more Oman nationals along with two locals including a chief Qazi in connection with the alleged trafficking of minor girls from the city under the guise of 'contract marriages' with elderly men from Gulf countries.

Omani national Al Sheyadi Sulaiman, 70 years, who claimed before police that he came to the city for medical treatment, was found to have actually come to Hyderabad for his marriage and was looking for minor girls, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Zone) V Satyanarayana said.

A broker from Oman identified as Al Shayadi Mohammed Khalfan had brought Sulaiman to Hyderabad to perform his marriage and investigation is underway to find out other victims who were trapped by him and trafficked to Oman and other Gulf countries, the DCP said.

The third Omani national Al Awdi Yasir, who married a city woman, had brought one visually challenged 75-year-old Oman national Abdullah Mubarak, who had already married ten times before for another marriage, the senior police official said.

Along with the three Omani nationals, police also arrested chief Qazi Ali Abudullah Rifai, who allegedly provided girls to foreign nationals by maintaining a network of brokers including women to search girls from poor families of the city, Satyanarayana said.

He added, they also arrested one local person Nayab Ibrahim, who assisted Rifai in performing the marriages of Arab nationals.

All the three Omani nationals were in touch with Rifai, he said.

Police have also initiated measures to deport two other Oman nationals -- Abdullah Mubarak and Al Shayadi Sulaiman Khamis Mohammed, son of 70-year old Al Sheyadi Sulaiman, for want of evidence, the official said.

Mubarak, who works as an Imam in Oman, is visually challenged and a chronic kidney patient undergoing dialysis thrice a week, said the official.

He had come to Hyderabad under the guise of treatment, the DCP said, adding investigation revealed he was already married ten times before to young girls from the city, but most of them either have shifted their residences while others have requested that their names should not be revealed.

"As victims are not preferring complaints against him and due to lack of sufficient evidence to book him in a criminal case police have decided to deport him along with Khamis Mohammed, who had come to the city for performing his father Sulaiman's marriage," Satyanarayana said.

Police teams are continuing searches of middlemen who are facilitating marriages of minor girls and luring them with false promises of bright future in foreign countries, he said.

On September 20, police had busted the 'contract marriage' (short-term marriage) racket, and arrested 20 persons including five Oman and three Qatar nationals, who attempted to marry the girls.

Police foiled attempts by eight Sheikhs from Oman and Qatar to marry local girls and rescued two minor girls.

They also arrested three qazis (people who conduct the marriage), including Farid Ahmed Khan, a Chief Qazi of Mumbai, four lodge owners and five brokers/agents who mediated to get such marriages solemnised.

Hyderabad Police Commissioner M Mahendar Reddy had then said that they have identified 35 brokers including 25 women and unearthed the network spread from Hyderabad to Oman and other Gulf countries.

The Hyderabad Police had in the past also busted several contract marriage rackets in the Old City area wherein such marriages were performed aided by fabricated documents.