A schoolgirl in Hyderabad in glittering red poses with an elderly man in disturbing wedding photographs that were handed over to the police yesterday. The bride is 16 and the groom – a 65-year-old sheikh from Oman.
The mother of a 16-year-old girl from Hyderabad has lodged a police complaint accusing her husband of marrying her off to a 65-year-old sheikh from Oman and sought help to bring her back. Saiyeeda Shaikh, a resident of Nawab Kunta area, said that her daughter told her over phone on Wednesday that she was not liking it there and wanted to return.
The woman says her daughter cried every time she spoke to her and wanted to return to Hyderabad.
“I spoke directly with the Omani national who married my daughter. He is saying that he paid Rs. 5 lakhs to Sikander (brother-in-law) and his wife and purchased my daughter and wants that money back, then only he will send back my daughter,” the woman said in her complaint.
Maneka Gandhi Seeks Sushma Swaraj’s Help to Rescue The Girl
I would request Smt. @SushmaSwaraj to intervene and bring the girl back to India from Oman.
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) August 17, 2017
This incident of a 16-yr-old being forcibly married to an elderly man in Oman is deeply disturbing. https://t.co/FB4NbDtq8i via @indiatoday
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) August 17, 2017
She also asked the Hyderabad Commissioner of Police to investigate the case.
Have asked the Commissioner of Police, Hyderabad, to investigate the case and identify the persons who forced this illegal marriage.
— Maneka Gandhi (@Manekagandhibjp) August 17, 2017
In response to Gandhi’s tweet, the Indian Embassy in Oman pushed for more details.
We need more details of Omani national, name, passport number, to be able to take up with Omani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
— India in Oman (Embassy of India, Muscat) (@Indemb_Muscat) August 17, 2017
Such marriages are tragically common in Hyderabad, which draws elderly men looking for young brides from poor families. Quick weddings are arranged for amounts that can go up to lakhs of rupees.
