Complaints of child marriages in Mysuru on the rise

Shrinivasa M | TNN | Apr 22, 2020, 10:52 IST

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MYSURU: Even as India fights coronavirus, one of the social evils troubling the country for decades – child marriage – continues to be practiced in some economically and socially backward areas of Karnataka. Taking advantage of lockdown restrictions, villagers in Mysuru district are conducting child marriages in temples. The district has reported ten such complaints this month so far, according to data from Mysuru childline. Most of these child marriages have been stopped after intervention by the authorities.
District child protection officer Dr S Divakar said: “Between April 13 and April 20, we received eight child marriage complaints. Six were prevented and FIRs have been registered in two cases. We have alerted to all stakeholders, including panchayat development officers, to prevent such cases during lockdown.”
“We have so far received 10 complaints related to child marriages through our helpline from April 1,” said Dhanaraj, Childline 1098 district coordinator.
According to E Dhananjaya, member of Mysuru Child Welfare Committee, the quasi-judicial body that investigates crime against children earlier, someone from the village would inform officials. "Now, with people restricted to their homes, and majority o to f officials and police personnel on Covid-19 duty, families are conducting child marriages without the fear of getting caught,” he said. According to sources, most of these cases are from HD Kote, Piriyapatna, Nanjangud, Bettadapura and surrounding areas.
One such family at Hallare village in Nanjangud taluk decided to hold the wedding ceremony at 4.47am in a local temple on Sunday. “The parents of both the bride and the bridegroom preferred the wee hours to avoid people and to ensure it was held uninterrupted,” Dhananjaya said.
“Despite their best efforts to perform the wedding secretively, a villager alerted me. I informed the local police and officials from the women and child welfare department. When these officials reached the village and enquired, the girl’s parents claimed that their daughter was in Mysuru and no wedding had taken place. Later in the day, we got photographs of the secret wedding ceremony and an FIR was registered against the parents immediately,” he added.