Police stop 9-year-old’s marriage to 39-yr-old man

Gokul.Rajendran@timesgroup.com

Trichy: The state’s infamous child marriages have hit a new low with the police preventing the wedding of a nine-year-old girl to a 39-year-old man in a village near Musiri on Thursday. The girl, who has not even attained puberty, is being given care and protection at a government reception home in Trichy.

An anonymous call to the all-woman police station (AWPS) in Musiri spurred police into action. The caller said that he had received information about talks going on for getting a girl studying in Class IV engaged to a man 30 years her senior. However, officials expressed shock that a girl below 10 years was being forced into marriage.

‘Reports showed there was a proposal for the marriage’

Inspector of police Latha and her team who rushed to Minnathampatti village in Thottiyam taluk found something amiss, indicating that the information could be true. Hence, they rescued the girl from her widowed mother, an agriculture coolie, and handed her over to the child welfare committee (CWC) in the night. The CWC inquiry confirmed that arrangements were going on for marrying off the girl. “Preliminary reports showed that there was a proposal for the marriage. The girl is being kept under our care. We are awaiting reports in this regard after which we will decide on her future,” CWC chairperson Trichy S Indira Gandhi told TOI.

However, the police inquiry with villagers revealed that it was a common practice in their community to fix the marriage of a minor girl in advance with a groom who was a blood relation. This was intended to “keep the relationship intact”. The police said that it was a confirmation for the marriage that would take place once the girl attained puberty.

However, the officials expressed shock at the revelation that a girl below ten years was being forced into child marriage. “The proposal for child marriage to a girl at such a tender age is very rare in Trichy,” said district social welfare officer (DSWO) S Usha. The prohibition of child marriage Act, 2006 had provisions that allowed the police to arrest those including the bridegroom in case of the conduct of a child marriage. However, the police remained reluctant to invoke the stringent provisions of the law against the erring persons.