Bhubaneswar, July 20: Childline officials along with the police prevented a 16-year-old girl from being married off to a man from Madhya Pradesh in Odisha’s Cuttack city.
Officials had received information about a wedding ceremony in which a minor girl was to be married to a 25-year-old man from Madhya Pradesh on Wednesday.
The officials informed the Cantonment police station. On getting information, the police reached the temple and foiled the attempt for the marriage and rescued the minor girl, said a police official.
However, before police reached the temple, the groom escaped from the spot. The police detained four persons, including family members of the girl and mediators in this case.
The minor girl was produced before the District Child Welfare Committee and her statement was recorded, said the police official.
“When we reached the temple, the mob there gheraoed us and helped the groom to escape. We managed to rescue the victim girl and brought her to Cantonment police station. The girl is only 16 years old and passed her matriculation exam last year,” said Narayan Sukla, a member of the Childline.
He said that the marriage was being conducted without the consent of the girl. A mediator is the mastermind behind this child marriage, he alleged.
