Family’s financial struggle, Only daughter becomes burden; Child Marriage stopped at engagement

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The family of the girl was financially struggling her father is a driver, and her mother is a homemaker. Their only daughter, a 16-year-old studying in 11th standard, had become a burden for her parents. Under the guise of an engagement ceremony, some relatives attempted to arrange her child marriage at a mandap venue. However, the village police’s Bharosa Cell intervened and stopped the marriage before the formal rituals could take place. The marriage was scheduled on Monday afternoon in a village of Khuldabad.

The girl, residing in Gangapur, has one brother. Despite the family’s economic difficulties, some relatives arranged the mandap and venue, attempting to relieve the parents of their responsibility by marrying off their only daughter.

Assistant Police Inspector Sarla Gadekar of the village Bharosa Cell received information about the child marriage. Along with child welfare officer Amrapali Borde, Nitesh Dhurve, Sub-Inspector Swapnil Narwade, and constables Kapil Bankar, Irshad Pathan, and Bhagyashree Chavan, the team rushed to the venue. By the time police arrived, the guests had gathered, but the ceremony was stopped before the formal rituals began.

Upon verifying the girl’s documents, police found that the family had misled them, claiming it was only an engagement and that the marriage would happen later. Investigations revealed that the marriage had indeed been planned and the girl was underage. The family apologized and signed a written undertaking not to proceed with the marriage. They were also served a notice to appear before the Child Welfare Committee, said Assistant Inspector Sarla Gadekar.

Photo Caption: Police team at the mandap