A timely call to Childline by a villager prevented three child marriages scheduled to be solemnised on March 20 at Diksanga (K) in Afzalpur taluk in Kalaburagi district on Saturday.
The parents of girl, belonging to Muslim community, had fixed the marriage of their 16-year-old daughter with 48-year-old Mouli Ali, resident of Deval Ganagapur.
In second case, both the girl and boy were minor. Mohammad Manzoor, 20, was to marry a 17-years-old girl from Bhognalli.
The parents were making preparations for the wedding, when a team of officials including District Child Protection Officer, Child Development Project Officer, members of Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and police reached their residence.
“We stopped the three child marriages. The team members faced stiff resistance from parents and relatives as the invitation cards has been distributed. We stopped the marriages after duly counselling them about the consequences of violating Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006,” said CWC member Vittal Chikkani.
The CWC and the Childline would again counsel the parents of the brides during a meeting on Monday and warn them not to go ahead with the child marriages. The Women and Child Welfare department and the police have been asked to follow up the case, Mr. Chikani added.
