27-year-old Gujarat-man stopped from marrying minor in Indore

INDORE: Indore woman and child development department late on Sunday night stopped a child marriage as they managed to return the procession of 27-years-old groom from Gujarat without tying nuptial knot to 15-years-old to-be-bride.
According to senior WCD officials, the minor girl and 27-years-old man became friends through Instagram and later, they both decided to get married.“The family members said that they were forced to agree to the wedding as the minor girl and Gujarat-based man had threatened them to run away from home” the senior WCD officials said, adding that even the priest, who came to perform the marriage, said that he was not aware of age of the bride (minor).
Ramniwas Budholia, the district program officer said that on Sunday, an online information was received about the marriage of a minor girl in Krishna Bagh Colony under MIG police station area.
“The complaint said that the minor girl's wedding was being performed at her home, where the groom's procession had arrived,” he said, adding that a team of the Core Group of Lado Abhiyan Corps, along with Child Protection Officer Bhagwan Das Sahu and Head Constable Shiv Kumar Yadav of Police Station MIG, reached the spot and inquired.
Initially, the groom's aunt tried to mislead the team by saying that the engagement ceremony was being performed at the minor girl’s residence.
“When Pathak spoke to them strictly, they confessed to be performing the marriage of minor girl with the Gujarat-based man,” Budholia said, adding that the team explained the family members about the law and consequences of performing child marriage for them to stop the same.