Hyderabad cops hunt for Kerala man who married minor

HYDERABAD: Hyderabad city police have intensified the hunt to nab 57-year-old Kerala native Abdul Lateef Paramban who married a 16-year-old girl and sexually assaulted her. The minor girl, who was rescued on Thursday, was handed over to the Child Welfare Committee for safe custody. Police found that Paramban paid Rs 2.50 lakh to the family. The marriage, which took place a month ago, came to light after the girl’s step-brother approached police.

Police initially registered a case under Child Marriage Act and later added charges of the POCSO Act. ACP Falaknuma Mohd Majeed told Express that special teams are on the job to nab Paramban and they are also probing if any others were involved in the offence. “We will know more details about the main accused and other aspects once he is caught,” he said. Inquiries so far revealed that the victim girl’s father had two wives and she is the daughter of the second wife.

Her mother died a few years ago, after which she was staying with her elderly father. But a couple of years ago, he was left bedridden after a paralytic stroke. Hoor Unnisa, one of the accused and also the girl’s maternal aunt, took the victim to stay with her in Falaknuma area, where she was constantly harassed.

Hoor Unnisa got to know about Paramban, who was searching for a girl for marriage, and approached him through the agents Mohammed Abdul Rahman and Waseem Khan. They finalised the marriage deal after Paramban agreed to pay `2.50 lakh.

CHILD MARRIAGE 

Sixteen-yr-old victim was married off to 57-yr-old Abdul Lateef Paramban by her aunt. Paramban took the victim to Ritaj Lodge in Bandlaguda and sexually assaulted her. He paid `2.50 lakh for the marriage

Qazi, who conducted the marriage, did not alert authorities about age discrepancy