Authorities foil child marriage days after 16-year-old girl elopes with man in Rajasthan's Bundi

Kota (Rajasthan) Feb 25 (PTI)The district authorities in Rajasthan’s Bundi stopped the wedding of a 16-year-old girl who had allegedly eloped with a man over a week ago, officials said on Wednesday.

According to Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials, the girl, a Class 9 dropout from a village in Kota, had eloped with a 24-year-old man from Karwar village in Bundi district on February 13.

The man allegedly kept her at relatives’ houses at different places, including Jaipur, and obtained a live-in relationship certificate on a notarised stamp paper dated February 14 from an advocate in Kota.

He also allegedly got the girl’s date of birth altered on her Aadhaar card at an e-Mitra kiosk in Karwar and circulated photographs showing them exchanging garlands at a temple, officials said.

The girl’s relatives allegedly persuaded her parents not to lodge a missing persons complaint after she eloped.

The man’s family later planned a traditional wedding on February 24 and made arrangements while keeping the girl at a relative’s house in Karwar, they added.

Upon receiving information about the underage marriage, the CWC and Childline identified those involved in the arrangements, including catering and venue providers, and gathered evidence.

CWC chairperson Seema Poddar said a seven-member team conducted a survey of the village and stayed at the temple venue as visitors throughout the day. The team later traced the girl to a relative’s house and found her around 5 pm on Tuesday.

Based on a complaint by the CWC, a judicial magistrate court in Nainwan on Wednesday issued an injunction restraining her parents from solemnising her marriage for the next two years and directed the police and the welfare committee to monitor the case to safeguard her rights.

The CWC will also issue notices to the advocate who prepared the notarised live-in document and to the e-Mitra kiosk operator, who is yet to be identified, she added.

Officials said the child marriage was allegedly being organised without informing the local administration. PTI COR OZ OZ