3 child marriages reported in Rajasthan; case registered

Jaipur, April 24 Rajasthan Police have registered a case against unidentified people under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, after at least three underage couples were married recently in Bhilwara during a mass wedding ceremony, an official said.

The FIR was lodged on the basis of a complaint filed by Bhilwara Child Welfare Committee (CWC) chairman Girish Kumar Pandey, CWC member Chandrakala Ojha told .

"We received information about child marriage and also received 2-3 photographs along with the information. So got a complaint registered with the police requesting them to take action under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act," she said.

"While three marriages were held, we managed to stop two other child marriages," she informed.

Meanwhile, based on Pandey's complaint, Bhilwara Mandal police registered an FIR under sections 9 (punishment for male adult marrying a child), 10 (punishment for solemnising a child marriage) and 11 (punishment for promoting or permitting solemnisation of child marriages) of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, as well as section 75 (punishment for cruelty to child) of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2005.

According to Dharm Raj Pratihar, Additional Director, Child Rights (Bhilwara), "It was a samuhik vivah sammelan (mass wedding ceremony) under which at least ten couples were married. Out of them, three were underage.

The FIR was lodged on Thursday on the basis of a complaint filed by the Child Welfare Committee.

Further investigation is under process to identify the children, said Ojha.

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