PMO urges probe into  contract marriages

HYDERABAD: The Prime Minister’s Office is seriously concerned with alarming rise in cases of contract marriage of young girls from Hyderabad with Arab nationals. Alok Rawat, member of the National Commission for Women said the PMO has asked a team from Delhi to immediately visit the city to probe the alleged child marriages conducted by brokers and qazis. In several cases, even parents are alleged to be victims.

Addressing the media in the city on Tuesday, Telangana Women’s Commission Chairperson Tripurana Venkata Ratnam, said, “NCW had formed a formal inquiry committee to probe the issue. I, along with Rawat will be probing the cases of contract marriages of Muslim girls with Arabs. It is not only criminal but also endangers the basic rights of children. An elaborate probe into the matter is the need of the hour and we will be coming up with a report in another week.” 

The PMO wants to know what possible steps can be taken to minimise, if not eliminate, such incidents, said Rawat. “In the last two days, we broadly interacted with Hyderabad NGOs like Shaheen and police officials who recently busted a contract marriage racket. We are looking into the various aspects of the society that allows trafficking of girl children at such a big scale,” he added.