Rawalpindi Police. Photo APP
RAWALPINDI:
A woman, who allegedly acted in connivance 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’ in Rawalpindi’s New Town area.
According to the police, the complainant, Murad Ali, said that he resides in Spain and that he divorced his ex-wife following domestic disputes some time ago. He was then 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 related to the wedding preparations, he transferred around Rs450,000 at different times. He was then persuaded to travel from Spain to Pakistan for the wedding ceremony.
On arrival at Sixth Road, he was received by Tabinda Shabbir and Malik Iftikhar and taken to the Siddique Akbar Mosque in the agricultural colony, where a cleric was said to have performed a marriage ceremony. However, no marriage certificate was provided, with assurances that it would be issued after registration.
He further claimed that Tabinda received Rs 50,000 as dowry (haq mehr) on the spot and got another Rs 80,000 for dowry and household items. She then allegedly forced him to go to Saddar, where he bought a mobile phone worth Rs 60,000.
He was later taken to an apartment in Dhoke Kashmiriyaan, where he claims he was drugged and rendered unconscious. On regaining consciousness, he found that Rs87,000 in cash had been removed from his pocket.
When he demanded his money back, victims allege, he was threatened and told to divorce immediately or face a trumped-up case of adultery on the grounds that no valid marriage had taken place. He also alleged that he was illegally detained and released only after his health deteriorated.
Subsequent investigations led him to discover that Tabinda and Iftikhar were in fact married and allegedly orchestrated the scheme with the help of a cleric and their son. In total, he claims to have been deprived of more than Rs 700,000 in cash and continues to face demands for blackmail.
The police registered a case at the request of the complainant and, employing both technical and human intelligence methods, arrested the husband and wife allegedly involved. Searches are underway to apprehend other accomplices and facilitators. Rawal SP Saad Arshad said those who exploit citizens will not escape the law. He added that the accused would be prosecuted on the basis of solid evidence to ensure that they receive appropriate punishment.
