The child rights activists stopped two child marriages in separate incidents while both functions were set for Friday night.
In the first incident, parents of a 11-year-old girl of an ST Colony near Nallamgadu village of Bangarupalem mandal, studying Class VI, fixed the girl’s marriage with her maternal uncle (25) on Friday night. As the girl stopped going to school since a fortnight and with rumours spreading about her possible marriage, the school teachers contacted the Rural Organisation for Poverty Eradication Services (ROPES) and Childline 1098 at Bangarupalem mandal headquarters, on Friday afternoon.
When the rescue team rushed to the girl’s village, her parents hid the child bride at a relative’s house at an adjoining village.
A special police party formed by Bangarupalem Sub-Inspector Nettikantaiah warned the parents of both sides, and the girl was brought to the village in the evening.
An undertaking was executed from the organisers that they would desist from performing the child marriage. The bridegroom, younger brother of the girl’s mother, informed the police that his sister had forced him to accept the proposal with a ‘suicide threat.’
Officials of the Education Department and ICDS also joined the rescue team.
In another incident, a 15-year-old Class X girl of Moolachimme Palle village of Baireddipalle mandal was betrothed to a 24-year-old auto driver of adjoining Pathapeta village. The marriage was scheduled on Friday night. The girl’s parents barred her from going to school and were in a hurry to perform the marriage as the girl had reportedly fallen in love with a youth belonging to another religion.
Seeing their wedding arrangements at the bride’s residence, followed by bitter cries of the victim, the neighbourhood informed the matter to the Childline.
A rescue party rushed to the village and after an hour long search spotted the girl holed up at a relative’s house.
A team of women constables from Baireddipalle police station rushed to the spot, and forced the parents of both sides to give an undertaking against child marriage.
The ROPES Childline coordinator, Kumari, said that the two rescued girls would be sent to their schools from Monday.
