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Syed Amin Jafri in Hyderabad
The runaway Kuwaiti girl Dhalal Falag al-Azmi and her Indian boyfriend Chennur Khader Basha performed their nikah at a remote village in Cuddapah district in Andhra Pradesh on Friday night.
According to official sources in Hyderabad, al-Azmi and Basha were married at Siddhapalli village near Mydukur town, about 450 km south of Hyderabad.
A large number of relatives of the bridegroom, including his parents and brothers, turned up at Basha's maternal grandfather's native village to witness the ceremony.
A local qazi solemnized the wedding. Many villagers also gathered at the venue out of curiosity.
The couple returned to Basha's home village Dalaipalle in Pullampet mandal in the district on Saturday morning.
Dhalal Falag al-Azmi told rediff.com, "I am not going to leave Basha at any cost. We are now wife and husband. Being married to an Indian, I am an Indian citizen now."
Basha and al-Azmi came to Dalaipalle on Friday. They were brought to the village in a police vehicle by Tamil Nadu police.
The Tamil Nadu police took an assurance from Basha's family on the girl's safety.
Al-Azmi (23) eloped with Khader Basha (28) and arrived in Chennai by an Air India flight on March 21.
She travelled on a forged passport of an Indian maidservant Seenamma working at her house in Kuwait.
She was arrested by immigration authorities and lodged in Vellore central jail for travelling on forged documents.
However, thanks to the intervention of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, al-Azmi was released on bail on April 1.
Union Home Minister Lal Kishenchand Advani also assured that she would not be deported from India.
Jayalalithaa also wrote to the central government to grant asylum to al-Azmi and confer Indian citizenship on her.
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