Pre-matrimonial investigations If you are driving down an Indian highway, you are sure to see billboards on the side of the road saying “Wedding Detective”.

                The Pre-Wedding Spy

                        

Many of these detective companies have sprung up across the country and provide detailed information about the groom to be and his past relationships (if any). These detectives actually get themselves involved with close friends and family of the groom through any means possible and try and withdraw information from them. If all is cleared, the couple is free to enter in matrimony.

Agencies say they've seen a huge rise in pre-matrimonial investigations to check a suitor's background, because more people are meeting online and families are less involved.

In a land where arranged marriage dominates, parents search for only the best for their daughters and will stop at nothing to get that. If you are driving down an Indian highway, you are sure to see billboards on the side of the road saying “Wedding Detective”. If you wonder what that is, do not over think it because it is exactly what you think it is. 

"It's not spying, we just wanted to know about my sister's boyfriend before she married him," says Anita (not her real name). She hired a private investigator to verify her now brother-in-law's background. Her sister met and fell in love with him at work, but Anita and her parents wanted to "authenticate" his family's status and finances before the wedding went ahead.

She enlisted the services of one of India's many pre-matrimonial detective agencies, which spent a month drawing up a report into his earnings, family history and past relationships, among other things.

                   

"He told us he was from a good family, but we needed to ensure he was telling the truth.

"Earlier in India with arranged marriages which were set up by the family, relatives would know about a partner, but now you don't know if he's married or has children or whatever, so we needed to hire someone to check all this," says Anita, adding her still-happily-married sister never knew about the detectives.

Anita turned to the services of Veteran Investigations, a Mumbai-based agency which has been carrying out "pre-matrimonial" checks for more than 40 years.

Finances and relationships

The nature and scope of investigation depends on the moral or cultural values of parents. Someone from a more traditional Indian family might want to check up on whether a bride or groom drinks or smokes.

Others might be keener to learn whether there are any past relationships, something which can still be frowned upon in India. Conducting a review of a groom's financial dealings and business assets is also common.

Mr Rai usually assigns a team of two or three people to every case. Research is a mixture of discreet enquiries through the social circle, online searches and on-the-spot surveillance.

"The most important thing is to maintain a safe distance at all times. They can never know you're watching them," says Jay Prakash, one of Mr Rai's detectives