Omani marries two minor girls, arrested

Hyderabad: An Omanese national was arrested by the South Zone police here on Friday for allegedly marrying two minor girls - one on April 9 and the other sometime this week- in the Old City. Eleven others including six brokers, three members of the victims’ families and two 'qazis' (priests) were also arrested by the police. Madasari Rashed Masood Rashid, 61, was arrested after the police raided a lodge in Banjara Hills on Friday.

Police recovered a cash of Rs 5,000, $2,725, 120 Riyals, three cell phones and a passport from his possession. The brokers Md Jaffar Ali of King Koti, Kareemunisa Begum of Moghulpura, Amena Begum and Md Osman, both residents of Mir Alam Mandi, Haseena Begum and Shakira Begum, both residents of Jahanuma, and three family members, Rabiya Begum and Md Muneer, both of Bhavaninagar, and Shainaz Begum of Baba Nagar and two qazis Md Ghouse Mohiuddin of Kalapathar and Md Zahed Ali Hyder of Jahanuma were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting the crime by Bhavaninagar police The Omanese national came to Hyderabad on a tourist visa on April 5 and put up in a lodge in Banjara Hills. He allegedly paid money to the girl's parents, brokers and even the 'qazis' to perform the marriage on April 9. The 'qazi', however claimed that he was innocent as the girl's age was shown as 19 in the documents given to him, police said. However, they were taken to Bhavaninagar police station, where they were being questioned. The parents of the girl were also unable to give a convincing reply to the police about whether the marriage was performed with their consent. Masood reportedly gave Rs 1,40,000 to the brokers, qazis, and family members to arrange the marriage. The incident came to light when one of the victims managed to escape from the clutches of Masood and with the help of her maternal uncle approached the Bhavainagar police and narrated the ordeal and based on that police lodged a complaint and took up investigation. Many cases of aged Arab nationals marrying young girls from poor families in the Old City came to light during the last few years. In 2012, the police had busted a racket involving a 'qazi' who performed marriages of foreigners with local girls from poverty-stricken families.

According to police, some Arab nationals have been using local brokers and even 'qazis' to entice the parents of girls. “The owners of houses/service apartments /lodges /restaurants are requested to verify the ID proof as well as the purpose of those taking house/flat on rent, before lending the house to foreigners,” the police warned.