Slumdog star Rubina’s father offered to sell her: British weekly

News of the World alleged that Rafiq had agreed to give his daughter up for adoption in exchange for millions of rupees when two of its journalists had posed as a wealthy family from West Asia and had asked whether Rafiq would let them take Rubina away to Dubai.

Rafiq claimed the allegations were the result of someone’s jealousy about the fact that he and Rubina could prosper in life.

“After Slumdog was released,one Hussainbhai,who claimed to be the assistant to a West Asian Sheikh,would call me up and tell me about the Sheikh’s wife who was so moved by Rubina’s performance in the movie that she cried uncontrollably after watching it. Hussainbhai had asked me if I could come to Dubai with my family and I had repeatedly told him that I didn’t have the resources for that. Then on Thursday,Hussainbhai called me to say that the Sheikh’s wife is in the city and wants to meet me. That night,I went to meet them with Rubina,a couple of friends,my brother and two nephews,” said Rafiq. Rafiq claimed that that night,the lady and the two men had repeatedly asked to adopt Rubina,but he had refused.

Rubina,sitting next to her father,described the room as huge and the lady who met her in a burqa as very fair.

“That night,the hotel’s car came to pick of us all up and upon reaching the hotel,we were taken upstairs to a huge room where one aunty and two men greeted us. The aunty,who was in a burqa,kept gushing about my performance in the film and gave me chocolates. She then asked me if I wanted to go to Dubai and I said yes,” she said.

“Ye sab ek saazish hai (It’s all a conspiracy). I completely trust my father and agree with what he has told you. All that they showed on television is false. We had just gone to meet them and though they offered to take me away,my father refused saying that he couldn’t let me stay away from him,” she said.

Meanwhile,a violent drama was unfolding outside the Garib Nagar slum where Khurshid,after hearing about Rubina being ‘put on sale’,hurled abuses at Rafiq and his present wife Meena aka Munni,who was present at the scene. Both women screamed at each other and eventually got into a fistfight which left the Meena bleeding.

Khurshid then went to Nirmal Nagar police station with her complaint following which,two constables escorted Rubina and Rafiq from their residence to the police station in an autorickshaw.

According to the police,though Khurshid had alleged that she suspected her husband of planning to sell off Rubina,they were not in a position to register an offence.

Meena,who is three months pregnant,got married to Rafiq seven months ago. Khurshid had reportedly run away seven years back,leaving an infant Rubina in the care of her grandmother.

Rafiq’s aunt puts the entire controversy in perspective by alleging that money was the root of it all. “They say that we will sell Rubina and earn money. But Rubina’s career has just started and she will go a long way. Who would want to sell off a hen that gives golden eggs,” she asked.