Police arrested 4 men in the wedding racket after they received a tip on happenings (Representational)
The Cyberabad police in Hyderabad yesterday arrested a 52-year-old national of the United Arab Emirates for allegedly cheating a 30-year-old woman under the guise of marriage, along with his brother and two local men.
Salim Obaid Saeed Shamlan AlZaabi (52), his brother Ibrahim Obaid Sayeed Shamlan AlZaabi, Mohd Shafi, a marriage broker, and Mohd Habeeb Ali, a qazi, were arrested in the case.
Salim came to Hyderabad on August 10, and approached the woman's family through Shafi, said inspector P Jagadeeshwar of Mailardevpally police station. Salim paid Rs 70,000 to Shafi, who gave the woman Rs 40,000. Shafi then persuaded the woman's parents to let her marry Salim, police said.
Salim allegedly only wanted to have a fling with the woman and intended to abandon her eventually and return to his country.
Habeeb Ali, the qazi, took Rs 10,000 to solemnise the marriage despite knowing that Salim never intended to take her to Dubai with him, police said.
His younger brother Ibrahim Obaid (48) also landed in Hyderabad a few days ago, and asked Shafi to find another local girl for himself.
Police received a tip-off about goings-on, and arrested all four from different locations in the city.
A case under IPC sections 370 (buying a person as a slave), 420 (cheating), 493 (cohabitation by a man deceitfully inducing a belief of lawful marriage) was registered against them.
Hyderabad police are currently probing another case where a 16-year-old girl from a poor family was allegedly sold by her relatives for Rs 5 lakh to an Omani national in his 50s.
The city police in the past have busted several such 'contract marriage rackets' where girls from poor families are lured into marrying foreign nationals and are sold off into sexual slavery.