After making a vain bid to conduct the marriage of their daughter last year, parents of a 16 year-old girl tried to conduct her marriage on the pretext of organising her ‘puberty ceremony’ on Friday.
On being alerted about the proposed marriage by a caller through Childline helpline ‘1098’ past midnight on Thursday, Childline and Social Welfare Department officials visited Singapuliapatti near Mudukulathur on Friday morning but were told by the parents of the prospective child bride that they were conducting her puberty ceremony.
The officials were shown the invitations for the ceremony but enquiries revealed that the parents, A. Jayachandran and J. Muniammal, had tried in vain to conduct her marriage when she passed class X last year, Childline member S. Kanagaraj said. The girl, joining Plus Two at a private school in Mudukulathur, was to marry S. Ramasubbu (25) of the same village, the same ‘groom’ fixed for her last year, Mr. Kanagaraj said.
Initially, the girl’s parents refused to call off the celebration, stating that it was only puberty ceremony. However, when the officials threatened to call the police, they confessed to organising the marriage, he said, adding the parents of both the girl and the man gave written undertakings that they would not conduct the marriage till she attained 18 years of age.
Enquiries also revealed that the girl was forced into the marriage and she was interested in pursuing her studies, he said. Village Administrative Officer Muthukaruppan and Social Welfare Extension Officer Balammal were helpful in convincing the girl’s parents to stop the marriage.
Kodaikanal
Similarly, the marriage of a 16-year-old girl was stopped at Naidupuram in Kodaikanal on Friday.
Police got information that the marriage of the girl from Theni with a 26-year-old man of Pallangi was arranged in a marriage hall at Naidupuram on Friday morning.
A special team, led by Inspector Iyyammal Jothi, rushed to the spot and stopped the marriage. The Inspector convinced the family members of ‘the bride’ and ‘the bridegroom’ that the girl was only 16 years old and performing the marriage of a minor girl was an offence. The groom could marry the same girl when she attained 18 years, the police said. Initially, their parents vociferously protested to the police action. Later, they agreed to cancel the marriage.
