22 June,2024 05:06 PM IST | Thane | mid-day online correspondent
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Police on Saturday registered a case against a 23-year-old man from Jalna district for marrying his minor niece two years ago in Maharashtra's Thane district, an official told PTI.
The police also registered the case against his brother and the victim's father, according to PTI.
"Based on a complaint lodged by the girl, who is 17 years old and pregnant now, an FIR was registered on Thursday under provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act against the trio," the official at the Wagle Estate police station told PTI.
Reportedly, the case has been transferred to Mantha police station in Jalna district, as the crime took place within its limits, he said
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The official told PTI that the accused are the girl's husband (23), who is her maternal uncle, his brother, and the victim's father (43).
Quoting the complaint, the official reportedly stated that the victim was only 15 years and five months old when the marriage was conducted on July 13, 2022. Her father got her married to her maternal uncle.
As per the PTI report, the complaint stated the marriage was solemnized at Mantha in Jalna.
As per the FIR, the victim was subjected to repeated rape by her husband, following which she became pregnant, the official told PTI.
Seven booked for conducting child marriage in Madhya Pradesh
Police in May registered a case against seven persons, including a priest, the parents of a 15-year-old girl, and a man aged 19, for solemnizing their marriage, an official told PTI. Reportedly, they were married as per Hindu customs on April 24, he said.
Chandan Nagar police reportedly filed a case against them under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. The Madhya Pradesh government started a campaign called Lado Abhiyan in 2013 to keep a check on child marriages.
Mahendra Pathak, who is part of the flying squad under this campaign, said the minor girl's father told them that his daughter and the 19-year-old man were in love with each other, according to the PTI. The girl had even threatened that if they didn't let her marry him, she would end her own life, he said, according to PTI.
Marriage of a boy below the age of 21 and a girl below the age of 18 is forbidden by law in the country, and its violation invites two years of rigorous imprisonment or a one lakh fine or both under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
