Fake marriage racket busted

Overseas Pakistani claims he was drugged, robbed and blackmailed

RAWALPINDI:

A woman, allegedly acting in collusion with her husband, is accused of luring a Spain-based man to Pakistan under the pretext of marriage and defrauding him of hundreds of thousands of rupees in a so-called "honey trap" scheme in the New Town area of Rawalpindi.

According to police, the complainant, Murad Ali, said that he resides in Spain and had divorced his former wife following domestic disputes some time ago. He was later contacted by a man identified as Iftikhar Ali, who offered to arrange a marriage proposal and introduced him to a woman named Tabinda Bibi.

Murad alleged that, under various pretexts relating to wedding preparations, he transferred approximately Rs450,000 at different times. He was subsequently persuaded to travel from Spain to Pakistan for the marriage ceremony.

Upon arrival on Sixth Road, he was received by Tabinda Shabbir and Malik Iftikhar and taken to Siddique Akbar Mosque in the Agricultural Colony, where a cleric purportedly conducted a marriage ceremony. However, no marriage certificate was provided, with the assurance that it would be issued after registration.

He further claimed that Tabinda received Rs50,000 as dower (haq mehr) on the spot and obtained an additional Rs80,000 for dowry and household items. She then allegedly compelled him to visit Saddar, where he purchased a mobile phone worth Rs60,000.

Later, he was taken to a flat in Dhoke Kashmiriyaan, where he alleges he was drugged and rendered unconscious. Upon regaining consciousness, he discovered that Rs87,000 in cash had been taken from his pocket.

When he demanded the return of his money, the victims claims, he was threatened and told to pronounce divorce immediately, failing which he would face a fabricated case of adultery on the grounds that no valid marriage had taken place. He also alleged he was unlawfully confined and only released after his health deteriorated.

Subsequent inquiries led him to discover that Tabinda and Iftikhar were in fact married to one another and had allegedly orchestrated the scheme with the assistance of a cleric and their son. In total, he claims to have been deprived of more than Rs700,000 in cash and is continuing to face blackmail demands.

Police have registered a case on the complainant's application and, employing both technical and human intelligence methods, have arrested the husband and wife allegedly involved. Raids are underway to apprehend other accomplices and facilitators. Rawal SP Saad Arshad said that those exploiting citizens would not escape the law. He added that the accused would be prosecuted with solid evidence to ensure they receive appropriate punishment.