About a week ago, news surfaced of a 16 year old girl being sold off and married to a 60+ year old Omani national. The Omani sheikh is now demanding Rs. 5 lakh to send the girl back to Hyderabad.
In May, the marriage was performed at a guest house in Jalpally. He returned back home and sent the girl a visa and she left for Muscat.
The girl’s mother rushed to the police after her daughter made regular calls begging them to bring her back home as the sheikh was torturing her physically and mentally.
The complaint was made at Falaknuma police station by the 16 year old bride’s mother. The woman stated that her husband and his sister Ghousia Begum and brother in law Sikander sold her daughter to the Omani sheikh for Rs. 5 lakh.
DCP (South) V. Satyanarayana said, “Sikander obtained identity documents fraudulently with the help of some agents and applied for a passport through an Internet cafe owner. The police contacted Ahmed through the Indian Embassy in Oman and asked him to send the teenager back. The man said he will send the girl soon. But now he is demanding the Rs 5 lakh he had paid to the brokers and the family here at the time of marriage. Embassy officials are also making efforts to convince him and is seeking help from the Oman government too.”
The police officer further added, “He has committed a crime and a case was registered against him at the Falaknuma police station. We have to bring him here and ensure justice to the teenager.”
Last week, Maneka Gandhi, Union Minister for Women and Child Development requested Sushma Swaraj, External Affairs Minister to intervene in the issue.
There are at least 60 brokers across the country that have been making a livelihood by duping illiterate people by convincing them to marry their daughters off to rich men abroad.
The mosques in Hyderabad are making an effort to spread awareness by making a 5 to 10 minute announcement against child marriages and the harsh effects it causes on children.
