Acting swiftly on a tip-off, officials of the Women Development and Child Welfare (WD&CW) Department, along with the police, thwarted a child marriage a day before the wedlock and rescued the 14-year-old bride.
The marriage is scheduled to be performed in Khammam in Telangana at 8.30 a.m. on Sunday. The bridegroom (20), a native of Khammam, is working with a private company in Hyderabad.
The bride, a resident of New Rajarajeswari Peta in the city, is studying in ninth standard in a private school.
Her father, P. Venkateswara Rao, is a mason and while her mother, P. Dhalalakshmi, is working as an ayah with a private educational institution.
Being informed about the marriage, Anganwadi Supervisor K.V. Dhanalakshmi, District Child Protection Unit (DCPU) staff G. Prema Latha and K. Latha, along with Ajitsingh Nagar Police, took the girl into custody and produced her before the WD&CW Krishna Project Director K. Krishna Kumari.
“We received information about the marriage on Saturday. The DCPU staff and police reached the bride’s house moments before the marriage party is about to leave for Khammam, and took the girl into custody,” the PD said. The girl’s parents said the bridegroom was their relative and he had promised to allow the girl to study after wedding. “I appeared for ninth class exams recently. My parents fixed my marriage and informed about the ‘ muhurtam ’ only,” the bride told The Hindu.
