A growing number of Indian-origin families are using the services of private detectives to check on prospective grooms for their daughters before finalising an arranged marriage.
Companies based in the UK claim that demand for this new kind of pre-wedding service by Asian families with roots in the Indian sub-continent mostly comes from brides-to-be.
While costs for such background checks start at 100 pounds, Raj Singh, a director of Lion
Investigations, recently charged as much as 4,500 pounds for several weeks of surveillance.
“It’s a range of different things, sometimes from as simple as what car he [the groom] drives or how much he drinks, to international surveillance,” he told ‘The Times’.
Sukhdev Malotarah, 54, used Singh’s services to find out more about his potential son-in-law from India.
“I contacted the investigators because I needed to be sure that everything was above board. The first time we met the family [of the prospective groom] it just didn’t feel <g data-gr-id="20">right ?</g> they were very interested in our way of life in England and my daughter’s earnings,” he said.
A three-week investigation involving the use of local agents in India yielded information of a kind he “could not see coming”.