Eight persons have been arrested in Coimbatore district on charges of being involved in child marriages in November, following complaints lodged by the Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department.
The district administration said in a release on Wednesday that Sathishkumar from Thoppampattiyanur near Annur, Vijayabharathi from K.K. Pudur, Vijay from Karegoundenpalayam near Annur, Mani from Krishnagiri district, Arunkumar from Marapettai near Pollachi, Premkumar from Valparai and Manimuthu and Sabariswaran from Kottur near Pollachi were booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and were arrested. The officials received information on the child marriages from the Childline helpline 1098 and the police.
Collector’s warning
District Collector G.S. Sameeran warned in the release that those who encouraged and conducted child marriage would undergo rigorous imprisonment up to two years and would have to pay a fine up to ₹1 lakh. The public could provide information on child marriages through Childline helpline 1098 and Women's Helpline 181, the release said.
