Haryana: Minor girl forcibly married off to 27-year-old man in Sonepat district

The evil practice of child marriage continues to destroy our society. In yet another such incident, a 16-year-old girl from Delhi’s Burari area was allegedly forcibly married off to a 27-year-old man in Haruana’s Sonepat district on Sunday in the midst of nationwide lockdown. The girl was rescued with the intervention of an NGO called Bachpan Bachao Andolam, which notified the state police.

The incident happened on Sunday when people of Hindu faith celebrate Akshaya Tritiya, an annual spring time festival. It is considered as an auspicious occasion by Hindus and people buy gold and others items for ‘unending prosperity’. As stated by the NGO, marrying off underage girls to older men has been a deeply held tratition in the region.

While talking to the Hindustan Times, senior manager of the NGO’s access to the justice department in the national capital, Manish Sharma, stated that their intervention was driven by a tip-off. On 25th April, he got a WhatsApp message from an unknown number that a 10th standard student was being forcefully taken to Haryana by her family for marrying her off to an older man.

Manish passed on the information to his NGO workers in Haryana who notified the state police. The NGO also stated that the anti-human trafficking unit of Haryana also took notice of the matter and informed the police.

The police rushed into action and the phone of the concerned girl’s father was put under surveillance on 26th April. The officers traced it to Gohana villahe in Sonepat. The police found out that the girl was forcibly married to a 27-year man.

In due course, the girl rescued by the cops was produced before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC). According to the details given by the girl. Seven people including her father were taken into custody. The accused have been charged under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

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