The groom, Abdul Lateef Paramban, who is from Kerala, is missing (Representational)
A 16-year-old girl from Hyderabad who was forcibly married to a 56-year-old man from Kerala on Sunday, has been rescued by the Hyderabad police. The "aunt" who got the girl married, middlemen who played brokers and fixed the marriage and the Qazi who solemnised the marriage, "knowing it was wrong" have been arrested, said a senior police officer.
Abdul Rahman and Waseem Khan who acted as middlemen and Qazi Mohammad Badiyuddin Quadri of Malakpet, who solemnised the nikaah, have been arrested and sent to jail.
The groom, Abdul Lateef Paramban, who is from Kerala, is missing.
The girl's mother is dead and her father is said to be bedridden. It was her cousin who filed a complaint with the state police, after which the crackdown took place.
The "aunt" in reality a distant relative -- Hoorunnisa reportedly took Rs 2.5 lakh from the man who wanted to get married. She kept Rs 1.5 lakh for herself and gave the rest to the brokers and the cleric who solemnized the marriage.
A case of rape and sexual assault on minor under POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences) has been filed against the man by the Falaknuma police. Another case under Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act has also been filed as well.
There is also a case of cheating and forgery against Hoorunnisa as she had used documents of the 16-year-old girl's elder sister in order to get the younger one married.