KOZHIKODE: Following the reports on Rubeena Buruhanuddin, a native of Odayam, Varkala, who is currently under trial at the Dhoonidhoo Detention Centre, Maldives, more heartrending incidents are being revealed through communication from the Indian High Commission (IHC) in Maldives. Rubeena was put in jail allegedly on fake charges of killing her 10-month-old baby Ahmed Saib Hassan, and attempting suicide.
Citing the ‘Express’ report published on January 5, the IHC states that they had received several complaints regarding Indian agents sending Indians to Maldives after taking large sums of money.
‘Express’ had reported that Rubeena was married off to Maldivian national Hassan Jabir on June 28, 2008, and she reached Maldives on August 24, 2008. The wedding was a marriage of convenience, referred to as ‘Malekalyanam,’ a practice through which poor girls are married off to grooms from the Maldives. Jabir had paid the family of Rubeena `30,000 as marriage expenses and promised to pay off their debts, said mother Shafeeqa Beevi. ‘Malekalyanam’ is more prevalent in the southern districts of Kerala, like Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam.
The brides reaching Maldives are not ‘taking’ Maldivian citizenship and are continuing as Indian nationals.
In another incident of ‘Malekalyanam,’ one more woman is waiting for the mercy of the authorities in India. Nabeesa Beevi, from Poonthura, Thiruvananthapuram, married Maldivian national Abubacker Ibrahim in 1992 and her husband died on November 2, 2014. The paralysed woman, left with no children and kin, is awaiting the mercy of the government for her repatriation.
NORKA CEO P Sudeep said that as per the request of the IHC, they had tried to contact Nabeesa’s family, but in vain.
“We received the letter from IHC on November 29, saying that she was paralysed and had no relation or anyone else to take care of her in the Maldives. The Maldivian government had requested the IHC for her repatriation to India as she is an Indian national. Within two days, we sent a letter in the recorded address -‘Manikkam Vilaakam house, Poonthura, Muttaththara village, Thiruvananthapuram’ and it was returned after failing to locate the addressee. Since we couldn’t find any relatives, we are planning to hand over the case to the Social Justice Department,” Sudeep said.
Nabeesa, daughter of Abdul Kareem and Shereefa Beevi, must be aged around 49 now. The Maldivian government had requested the IHC to arrange for her repatriation to India. “This mission is willing to arrange her repatriation to India, but regrettably, we are yet to receive any positive response regarding any arrangement for her in Kerala.She is in a helpless condition and has requested for her earliest possible repatriation. It is requested and hoped that NORKA would be able to help arrange a shelter for her to facilitate her repatriation,” the letter signed by First Secretary S C Agarwal reads.
About the human trafficking issues regarding Indians, the IHC states that in many cases, Indian workers are sent by agents to unscrupulous employers They can be helped with the intervention of the IHC.