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A 17-year-old girl from Bied district was forced to marry for the third time in the past four years by her parents. She forcibly married the minor in 2020, then again in 2022, but then fled from the residence of the person to whom she was engaged. also. On June 7, she was forced to remarry, but was rescued hours after the ceremony by activists and police.
The issue came to light on Wednesday when the NGO – Childline – in Beed received a call about a young girl’s wedding in Bavi village in Shirur Taluka in Beed. Santosh Reb of Childline Beed, told The Indian Express
A team was immediately sent to the village but they found nothing. Then we got another call telling us that the wedding had already taken place. We were shocked and asked the caller for more details. The person said that he was actually this child’s first groom.”
Since the girl lives in Buffy Village, the NGO has been informed of this for the first time. The wedding actually took place in Dahiwandi village, at the groom’s house, which the caller later recognized and called back to inform the NGO.
The Children’s Line started operating and a team including the Village Development Officer (VDO) began searching Dahiwandi village.
VDO Seema Khodkar said, “We were able to locate a house, but when we visited, we were told that it was just a tilak ceremony, where marriage is decided. But when we took a strict approach, people there admitted that it was a wedding. This was the second marriage of the groom, After his separation from his first wife, the local police were immediately informed.”
The girl, according to the VDO, was only a month away from reaching the age of 18. “Fortunately, as the incident came to light, the whole story including their two previous marriages was revealed,” Khodkar said.
Sharing details of her past weddings, Rebbe said, “This girl was married for the first time in 2020 at the age of 14 to 22, Adinath Pansambal, from Ukhand village in Bied. This marriage lasted only 3 months because the girl, who was a baby then, She didn’t really understand the concept of marriage and proper behavior at home. Then her parents, who work as laborers in sugarcane plantations, moved to Satara for work.”
There, the 15-year-old got married again in February 2022, this time to 40-year-old Sameer Vir from Roy village in Satara district. But this also did not work for more than 2 months.
The underage girl herself confirmed the details of the incidents, saying that she was married off by her parents. The girl is now in the custody of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Bede, and has been admitted to the home for a short period where she will undergo counseling before a future course of action is decided.
Childline provided her two previous wedding photos to the police as evidence. The NGO is now calling for complaints under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act (POCSO) to be filed in cases of first and second marriages, taking into account that the child lives in the grooms’ homes for 2-3 months.
Assistant Inspector of Police Ganesh Zukrat, in charge of Chiru Rural Police Station, said, “Most likely we will act under POCSO. However, the child is currently undergoing counseling, after which we will record her statement in the presence of CWC members before making a decision on it.”
A complaint was filed against 30 individuals including her parents under the Child Marriage Prohibition Act 2006.
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