Muscat:
Three Omanis, who were arrested in India in September along with five other Omani nationals for allegedly marrying minor girls in Hyderabad, India, were released on Thursday.
An official at the Consulate General of Oman in Mumbai told Atheer, a news site, over phone from India that the Omanis were released on bail but the case was ongoing.
The official added that both the Consulate in Mumbai and the Embassy in New Delhi coordinated with Indian authorities to release the men as well as paying all the legal fees.
“The remaining five Omanis will also soon be released on bail,” he said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs had already provided the men with a lawyer.
In September, police in Hyderabad had raided several guesthouses and arrested 10 Omanis who were in the city to marry minor girls, according to Indian media reports. Some other Gulf nationals were arrested for the same reason.
Two of them were deported as the police couldn’t find sufficient evidence to prosecute them. One of them is blind and suffered from a kidney condition, and the other his son who had accompanied him for medical treatment in India.
Many marriage brokers in India have allegedly been unfairly targeting Omanis, often lying about the age of the brides, according to the official.
In October, Shaikh Abdullah Bin Shuwain Al Hosni, Chairman of Oman Human Rights Commission met with the ambassador of India, Indra Mani Pandey, and discussed the issue of the Omani citizens detained for violating the marriage law in India.
In September, Omani nationals had been urged not to visit Falaknuma near Hyderabad, the Omani Consulate said. “The Omani Consulate is advising all nationals not to travel to the area of Falaknuma near Hyderabad until further notice,” the consulate affirmed.
The Consulate added the Indian authorities have tightened the procedures for Omani nationals in that region.
Over the past three years, five Omani nationals have been jailed for various offences but they were later released.
