Kota: A 17-year-old girl, with the help of her younger brother, foiled a bid to marry her off to a man double her age allegedly by her uncle in Jagpura area here.
On the basis of a complaint by the girl, the child welfare committee (CWC) has ordered police to register a case against the accused.
The girl, along with her 15-year-old brother, last evening reached Mahila police station and complained that her maternal uncle Haricharan is forcefully marrying her off to a 35-year-old alcoholic for money, Assistant Sub-Inspector Ram Dayal said.
Her uncle took Rs one lakh from the man. He gave Rs 50,000 to the girl’s parents and himself kept the rest half with himself, he said.
When the girl refused to get married, her uncle threatened that her parents then have to return Rs 1 lakh to the groom, the officer said.
The accused got the girl engaged to the man on June 23 and also a ‘mehandi ceremony’ of the girl was done after tying her hands and legs, Dayal said.
Haricharan was planning to get her married yesterday but she escaped with her brother and approached the police, he said.
The siblings were handed over to the Child Line as the matter is related to children, the ASI said.
The CWC last evening conducted a hearing and sent the siblings to children shelter homes, Coordinator of Child Line, Bhupendra Singh said.
The committee also ordered police to register a case in the matter, he said.
Circle in-charge of Anantpura police station, Anil Joshi said a police team has been sent to record the statements of the accused and the girl’s parents to investigate the matter.
However, no case has been registered in this connection so far, he said, it would be registered after further investigation.
Meanwhile, counselling of the siblings were conducted, the Child Line coordinator said.
—PTI