Shefali (name changed) is a Masters in Sciences and a gold medalist. She married an NRI and settled abroad. Once there, her in-laws allegedly tortured her and demanded dowry. When she failed to get more dowry, the husband and in-laws confiscated her belongings including her passport.

Hundreds of similar cases are filed in Chandigarh every year. The Woman and Child Support Unit of the city held a workshop on ‘Overseas Marriages and Their Matrimonial Conflicts’ at MCM DAV College for Girls on Friday to create awareness among students about their rights when they marry an NRI. Traffic SP S S Doon, Senior Advocate Ranjan Lakhanpal and Operations SP R S Ghumman attended the workshop. Inspector General of Police S K Jain was the chief guest on the occasion.

Ghumman said: “We educate our daughters so that they can stand on their feet and contribute to the society. But many suffer without being at fault. Their marriages are arranged with NRIs through bureaus and newspaper advertisements without proper verification of the groom, his educational background, financial status and family background.”

Lakhanpal termed these marriages as ‘fly by night marriages’ where grooms take away the dowry and escape to other countries. He said the legal system in the country has many loopholes and that it is difficult to bring to task a person living abroad.