By Chaitanya Mallapur, IndiaSpend.com:
Marriages may be made in heaven, but for a lot of Indians looking for the ideal NRI (non-resident Indian) partner, their weddings turn out to be a farce. We get to read about a lot of cases in which people have married NRIs but were later cheated or abandoned abroad.
Recent data released by the central government shows the number of complaints/cases received about fraudulent marriages in Indian diplomatic missions abroad:
Since 2011-12, there have been a total of 188 cases/complaints of fraudulent marriages in Indian diplomatic missions. Most of these cases have been in the USA, 139. The numbers have declined in 2013-14 from 49 to 39 compared to the previous year. There was a rise in such frauds from 26 in 2011-12 to 49 in 2012-13 for the USA. The next most unreliable destination for NRI marriages is Canada (22), followed by the United Kingdom (13).
General (Retd.) V. K. Singh (Minister of State in the ministries of Overseas Indian Affairs & External Affairs) during a reply in Lok Sabha said Indian Missions provide financial assistance for legal procedures and counselling.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs provides legal and financial assistance to Indian women deserted by their Indian or foreign husbands overseas. The amount of assistance given is up to $3,000 in developed countries and $2,000 in developing countries. Such financial help is provided through missions or posts in the USA, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore and the Gulf countries.
This article was originally published on IndiaSpend.com, a data-driven and public-interest journalism non-profit.