Hyderabad: Ten months after news broke of the marriage of a minor girl from the city with a 70-year-old Oman national, the government is yet to find a way out to bring her back home.
The case drew national attention to the thriving racket of marriage of young girls to elderly foreign nationals.
Union minister Sushma Swaraj had promised that the girl would be brought back, while her colleague Maneka Gandhi had expressed her anguish at the marriage. The 16-year-old, a resident of Falaknuma, was married to the Omani national ‘against her wishes’ by her father in May last year.
The issue came to light in August when her mother approached the police, who registered a case on August 16 and launched an investigation.
The Omani national, Ahmed Al Rahbi Ahmed Abdullah Amur, reportedly paid a broker '5 lakh for the marriage that was performed at a farmhouse in Jalpally and took her abroad with a passport based on a fraudulently-obtained Aadhaar card.
“The marriage was performed based on the Aadhaar card. Her age was shown as 19 in the Aadhaar card,” said a police official who had investigated the case.
In November, the police contacted officials of the ministries of external affairs and women and child development and handed over the documents of the case. Since then, the investigation seems to have come to a standstill.
Based on the evidence, the Falaknuma police arrested a broker named Ghousia, her husband Sajid, and a few others.
“Both the ministries are following up the case in Oman through diplomatic channels,” said ACP, Falaknuma, Syed Fayaz.
Sources said that a team of Indian consulate official had gone to the residence of the Omani national and asked him to send back the girl.
He showed them the Aadhaar card and said that he had legally married her in India. The girl also was reluctant to return, the source added.
MBT leader Amjedullah Khan said, “I contacted the external affairs and women and child development ministries, but there is no reply from the side nor they are letting the family or police know about their plan of action to rescue the girl.”
A case was registered against the parents of the girl for their alleged involvement, he said.
Mr Khan added that the parents of the girl had contacted him recently and wanted to know her whereabouts. “Some local leaders have reportedly threatened the parents against going public. Since, then they have shifted their residence too,” he said.
“When it comes to conducting talks with the Omani government and the authorities concerned to bring the girl back, they do not show much enthusiasm,” says an official.
