Indore: Officials prevent minor’s marriage

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): On the very first day of Dev Uthani Gyaras, the authorities foiled an attempt by a family to marry off their 17-year-old girl. Officials had received information about a wedding ceremony in which a minor girl was to be married to a 21-year-old man in Dhabli village, said Mahendra Pathak, in-charge of the anti-child marriage flying squad of the women and child development department.

“The team rushed to the spot this morning along with the police and warned the members of the girl's family about the consequences of child marriage and stalled the ceremony,” said Pathak. The girl was four months shy of turning 18, which is the legal age for getting married, the official said.  

The parents of both the bride and groom were informed about child rights and the legal age of marriage. The parents assured the officials that the marriage will only take place once the girl turns 18. Child marriage invites two years of rigorous imprisonment or a fine of Rs 2 lakh or both under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. 

WCD preps up to deal with child marriages

District-level teams have been formed to prevent child marriages. In addition, a district-level control room has been set up. Programme officer of women and child development, Ramniwas Budheliya informed that Ashish Verma, Sandesh Raghuvanshi, Ramchandra Raghuvanshi, Sunita and Mahendra Pathak have been placed in district-level team number 1. Similarly, in team number 2, Bhagwan Das Sahu, Ashish Goswami, Rohit Mujalde, Monika Waghe and Devendra Pathak are members.