The Aryavarth Express
Agency (Uttar Pradesh): In a concerning case of child marriage in Uttar Pradesh’s Bahraich district, police have registered a case against five individuals, including a 35-year-old husband and the minor girl’s uncle. The 13-year-old girl and her mother have accused her in-laws of pressuring her into physical relations and issued threats to force the marriage.
Sub-Inspector Mahesh Prasad, who is handling the investigation, reported that the girl and her mother approached the Superintendent of Police (SP) on Saturday to report the matter. In her complaint, the girl revealed that after her father’s death, she and her mother were living in Bahraich city under impoverished conditions. Her uncle, Khelavan, persistently pressured her mother to marry her off due to their financial struggles.
A year ago, Khelavan threatened them and arranged her marriage to Pankaj, a resident of Sahasalampur village. Following the marriage, Pankaj took her to his home, where she alleges that Pankaj and her brother-in-law locked her in the house, beat her, and pressured her into having physical relations with Pankaj.
Unable to endure the abuse, the girl eventually fled her in-laws’ house and returned to her mother. The mother-daughter duo then went to the SP office to recount their ordeal.
Upon the SP’s orders, a case was registered against Khelavan, Pankaj, the brothers-in-law Vinod and Hanumant, and father-in-law Jokhu at the Fakharpur police station. The charges include sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the IPC, as well as violations of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.
Sub-Inspector Prasad assured that the entire matter would be investigated thoroughly, and appropriate actions will be taken based on the findings. This case highlights the ongoing issue of child marriage in rural areas and the need for stringent enforcement of laws to protect minors.
