A growing number of cases also concern the character of the would-be mother-in-law, says Usha, a private detective with Mumbai's Venus Detective agency.
"We study the mother-in-law," says Usha. "How many times does she get angry, how many times does she throws the vessels out, how many times does she go shopping, what does she spend her money on. We understand everything about her and then put it in writing."
Pre-matrimonial investigations are increasingly common. There are around 15,000 such companies offering across India, conducting an average of 50-100 investigations a month during peak wedding season, says Kumar Vikram Singh, chairman of the Association of Private Detectives of India (APDI).
That amounts to one million active cases during this period, a growth of 300% in the past five years, he says.
More Indians are choosing their own partner online, instead of having an arranged marriage through their parents, Singh says. As the internet spreads throughout India, people in smaller cities and towns are meeting through the web rather than family connections.
The private investigation business is not regulated in India. "It is neither legal nor illegal," says Rai, who adds a bill has been going through the Indian parliament for some time in an attempt to create a set of guidelines for the industry.
Mr Singh denies this practice amounts to any sort of spying, and says in the Indian cultural context it is perfectly ethical. "The matrimonial concept is very different from the Western one. You are sending your daughter to someone's house, so you need to find out where she is going.
"There is an acceptability, not defined in the law books, that each family will carry out their own investigation with their own methodology and find out information about each other."
But not everyone is supportive of the practice. For some the idea of these checks amounts to an unnecessary invasion of privacy.
Manish, whose name we have changed, suspects he may have been the subject of such enquiries. Friends of his were approached by a very old acquaintance who was extremely curious about his past relationships.
"One of my old friends was asked whether I had a girlfriend at college, by someone they barely knew. I did have one in the past, but didn't want it to affect my wedding. I'll never know 100 per cent whether it was a detective, but I have my suspicions."
Manish believes this level of investigation is unwarranted and can lead to a sense of mistrust at the beginning of a marriage.
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It's one thing to be certain that the person you're going to marry is the right person, but there is something really troubling about going to this extreme . . .
