Underage marriage: Priest among 3 booked

Times News Network
Ludhiana: The police on Thursday booked three persons, including a gurdwara priest, for solemnizing the marriage of a 19-year-old youth with a woman, 21.
Those booked include Inderjit Singh, priest at Gurdwara Guru Tegh Bahadur Sahib, Jail Road, and witnesses Bittu Kumar of Gopal Nagar, Haibowal, and Rajinder Kumar of Mahavir Colony, Haibowal.
ASI Amarjeet Kumar said, “The youth, a resident of Indra Colony, had met the woman, a resident of Batala, on Facebook, a few months ago. The duo decided to elope from their houses as their parents would not agree to their inter-caste marriage. On July 23, they solemnised their marriage at the gurdwara.”
Thereafter, the woman approached the Punjab and Haryana high court to seek protection for both of them. “There, the Judge said the youth was 19-year-old, while the legal age for marriage for a man was 21 years. The court then ordered to book those who solemnized their marriage,” the ASI added.
As per the court orders, a case has been registered against the three under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, ASI said.