Premarital secret quest sees Indian private eye business boom

London, February 22 (ANI): Indian private detectives that dig out premarital secrets of prospective brides and grooms are climbing the popularity charts in the middle-class neighbourhoods.

Ajit Singh, who has been in business for nearly two decades with his own agency, Hatfield Detectives, has been deploying people across the country to carry out a background check on people before a wedding.

"We start with the house: how many people live there, whether the property is owned or rented, if the subject in question is married or has been engaged before. We talk to drivers, neighbours, neighbours' drivers, maidservants, gardeners, people who come for the laundry. There are many ways to find out things," the Scotsman quoted Singh as saying.

Singh added: "Today, there's a need to check if people are telling the truth. Does that boy really have an education? Is he really earning that big salary? Is that boy or girl running around?"

And the trend was said to have expanded to those with not-so-heavy pockets as well, with a basic investigation costing nearly 300 dollars.

Baldev Puri, 45, the founder of AMX, a large New Delhi-based agency where one-third of the business is premarital investigations, said: "Before, we were a luxury for someone who had a hell of a lot of money. Now, every family wants to know the maximum." (ANI)