CHANDIGARH (TIP): It is literally a marriage of convenience. Far away from the infamous phenomenon of abandoned brides that left nearly 30,000 Punjabi women undefended when their NRI grooms deserted them, a cool ‘paper marriage culture’ has developed in the state. There is virtually no police check.

Sample this: A girl from Mohali belonging to a poor economic background was extremely good in studies, especially in English language. She was excited by an advertisement in a newspaper about paper marriage. The ad seemed to promise a fortune. All she had to do was marry a ‘below average’ youth from a village near Faridkot settled abroad.

The ‘package’ offered by the prospective groom’s family through a ‘smooth talking’ agent stated the groom’s family would bear all expenses of her education, marriage and settlement in a foreign country. She would be a paper wife only and won’t have to even move to her husband’s house after the wedding. The deal clinched and both are settled in Australia now but with different partners. They got divorced as already agreed. Both have Permanent Residency in that country.

Everyone doesn’t end up as ‘lucky’.

The paper marriage is a worrying trend where either partners or both end up being exploited. The sole vow of the marriage in such cases is the commitment to help each other in search for greener pastures in the US, UK, Europe, Australia or New Zealand.

When the conflict gets serious, the matter lands up with NRI police stations in the state. This is when the police come into picture. The Special NRI Wing, formed to look into marital disputes or fraud against NRIs, does not have any policy or proactive approach to stop such ads. The Punjab Police has no plan at all.

Though the ads offer such illegal paper marriages, the police just await a formal complaint. IG-NRI Wing Ishwar Singh says the district police must look into such fraudulent ads. The NRI wing comes into picture when the fraud is already committed. “We spread awareness,” he said.

Director, Bureau of Police Investigation, ADGP IPS Sahota, said the police do crack down “from time to time” on such travel agents. “We do conduct checks, but such ads have not come to our notice.”

Kamaldeep Singh AIG NRI Wing sees a legal bottleneck. “On the face of it, such a marriage is legal. What can the police do unless there is a complaint? The couple goes through all the rituals of a wedding. Other than the immediate family, no one is aware. Unlike the fraudulent sham marriages scripted by NRIs in the abandoned brides’ case, the parents and baraatis are real. It is all verbal,” he said. Things, he says, get complicated only when money is sought to be refunded. He cites data: Of the 141 FIRs registered against or by NRIs, only 52 were about marital disputes and none of these was about the failure of such a legal marriage. Last year, from the 195 cases, 58 were related to marital disputes and none involved paper marriage.

There is a hope, if at all. “Sometimes, a paper marriage develops into a real one. Two such cases came to the knowledge of the NRI wing where couples tied in such a contract marriage told their parents they were in love. “The bond developed when they moved abroad. The wedding had already taken place only the vows were exchanged afresh.”

A look at most of such ads shows that more boys than girls seek a partner through such deals. A teacher with a local academy, which offers preparation courses on IELTS, says “very few boys are able to clear the test.” As most boys are unable to get the requisite grade, they try to migrate with the help of a sponsor or a girl who has cleared the IELTS exams.

What is IELTS?

The International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is the world’s most popular English language proficiency test for higher education and global migration. The IELTS assesses all English skills — reading, writing, listening and speaking, and is designed to reflect how a person will use English in one’s studies, work, and at leisure activities, says Wikipedia.

It says the test is developed by some of the world’s leading experts in language assessment. It has an excellent international reputation, and is accepted by over 9,000 organizations worldwide, including in schools, universities, employers, immigration authorities and professional bodies.

The candidate is given marks or bands out of 10. Those scoring 6.5 or more have better chances of getting a student or work visa in a foreign country.