Locked house greets wedding procession

Groom’s family, friends protest in street, inform police

OKARA:

Participants of a wedding procession found the bride’s home locked up and her family missing on the wedding day.

The groom and the participants of the wedding procession staged a sit-in outside the house and a police team also reached the spot after receiving information about the incident.

According to the protesters, 25-year-old Shahadat, a resident of Mandi Ahmedabad, had developed friendship with Guriya, a resident of the 53 2L area, over phone.

After remaining in contact for about two months, Shahadat proposed to the girl who accepted the proposal.

Relatives of the crestfallen man alleged that the girl's family had taken Rs100,000 and several items from him before the marriage.

The bride along with her family had gone to the groom's house a day earlier and attended a feast.

However, when Shahadat took the Barat to her home at the decided time, he, his friends and relatives were shocked to see the house vacant and locked.

They staged a sit-in in front of the house. The groom's mother said her family had been cheated and embarrassed.

The groom’s relatives and local people also reportedly searched for the girl’s family at the addresses of her relatives in the form of groups. After failing to locate her, they informed the local police about the incident.

District Police Officer (DPO) Furqan Bilal sent Saddar police station officials to the spot.

According to sources, preliminary police investigation had indicated that the bride and her brother had been living in the rented house, but had escaped along with their belongings late at night.

However, SHO Mehar Ismail said a formal complained had not yet been filed by the aggrieved family and further legal proceedings would be carried out as per the law after a report would be lodged.

Police officials said the owner of the house would also be questioned regarding the incident.

Marriage fraud is not an uncommon occurrence in Punjab. In June 2022 in Khurrianwala, four persons deprived a shrine attendant of cash, jewelery and valuable clothes through a fake marriage scam.

Shrine attendant Muhammad Din alleged that Nadeem Sarwar approached him and offered Din an arranged marriage in exchange for Rs100,000. Din paid Rs80,000 to the accused, who arranged a fake marriage with a woman identified as Shahnaz Bibi Sial. Shahnaz Bibi told Din that she was going to visit her parents, taking jewelry, expensive clothes and Rs200,000 in cash.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 13^th, 2022.