By Adam Mynott BBC correspondent in Delhi

Police in India are investigating claims of British Asian men marrying Indian women and then abandoning them, after taking dowries from their brides' families.

The wedding day, three years ago

The BBC has spoken to a woman from the Punjab who says she married a man from Birmingham, in England, three years ago, who immediately deserted her.

Indian MPs say there are thousands of similar cases.

The British High Commission says it is aware of the problem and is urging families affected to report the cases to the police.

Twenty-three-year-old Paramjit Kaur married a British Asian at her home near Jalandhar in Punjab three years ago.

She had known the man just a few days.

Arranged

The marriage had been arranged by her family, a common practice in Punjab. The husband, whose home is in Birmingham, spent just seven days with his new bride before going back to the UK.

Paramjit's father says he gave her new husband jewellery worth 6,000 pounds ($9,300) as a dowry.

Paramjit still hopes her husband will return

Paramjit Kaur said he had promised to sort out a UK visa for her and then take her back to Britain but, she says, she has heard nothing at all from him for the past two years.

Indian MPs say there are thousands of similar cases, many involving British men.

It is claimed they take advantage of the women's gullibility and desperation to leave India and seek their fortune abroad.