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.
Kodaikanal
Similarly, the marriage of a 16-year-old girl was stopped at Naidupuram in Kodaikanal on Friday.
