NGO, cops stall 14-year-old’s marriage

Nagpur: Timely intervention of an NGO, police and staffers of women and child development department helped stop marriage of a 14-year-old girl. She was supposed to tie knot with a 28-year-old suitor on July 26.
The teenager was produced before the child welfare committee (CWC) on Friday following which a counselling session of her was conducted to ensure she overcomes the dilemma. It’s learnt that the girl was lured by her beau to marry him.
The family of the girl had prepared a fake Aadhaar card revealing her age as 19. The wedding cards were also distributed. As the preparation for the marriage was underway, NGO Childline got an alert call from the locality.
The activists of Childline, working under the umbrella organization of Indian centre for integrated development (ICID), informed the district child protection officer Mushtaq Pathan and district child and women development officer Aparna Kolhe who swung into action. Juni Kamptee police too were alerted about the developments.
ICID’s office bearer Chhaya Gurav, working under Father Herald D’Souza, said her team, along with police and other government officials, reached the place to meet the girl’s family. “Suspecting that the Aadhaar card was fake, we ensured the records of the Anganwadi, where the girl studied, was checked. It came to fore that she was supposed to turn 15 in December,” said Gurav.
The family members were made to sign a declaration that they would refrain from engaging in such illegal act of child marriage and immediately put a stop to the undergoing preparation. “We have also summoned the man who was planning to marry the teenager half his age. He would be also made to furnish in writing not to repeat such an illegal act,” said Gurav.
She also said that CWC and other government agencies, including NGO Childline activists, shall keep a close watch on the families and on the teenager.