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 of Kalaburagi district.
A couple belonging to the Muslim community had fixed the marriage of their 16-year-old daughter along with a 48-year-old Mouli Ali, resident of Deval Ganagapur.
In another case, both the girl and boy scheduled to be married were minors. Mohammad Manzoor, who was 20 years and nine months old, hailed from Diksanga (K) and the girl was 17 years and nine months old, from Bhognalli in Afzalpur taluk.
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Parents of both the girls and boy were making preparations for the wedding to be held on Monday, 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 at Diksanga (K) on Saturday morning.
“We stopped the three child marriages, the team members faced stiff resistance from parents and relatives as the invitation cards were distributed. We stopped the marriages after counselling them about the consequences of violating the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006,” said CWC member Vittal Chikkani.
The CWC and Childline would counsel the parents of the brides during the meeting on Monday and warn them not to perform child marriages. The Women and Child Welfare department and the police had been asked to follow up the case and keep vigil at the marriage venue on Monday, Mr. Chikkani added.
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