7 booked over child marriage of 5 girls in Rajasthan: Police
Police said the marriages had taken place secretly in a field after police warned the family and sent an additional team in the village for the children’s protection
Jaipur: At least seven people were booked over the child marriage of five girls in Rajasthan’s Bhilwara on Friday, police said.
Bhilwara superintendent of police (SP) Dharmendra Singh said the marriages had taken place secretly in a field after police, who received information about it through a non-profit organisation, warned the girls’ family and sent an additional team in the village for the children’s protection.
“Police received information about this marriage a day prior through some local non-profit organisations who are active in the area to prevent child marriages. We warned them not to marry those minors off as it is illegal. An additional force was also deployed in the village. Yet, they conducted the marriage secretly in a field,” the SP said.
“We filed an FIR against them on Friday when we gathered substantial evidence by checking the CCTV footage of those minor couples’ visit at a local temple on Thursday,” he added.
According to police, the prime accused, Gopal Lal and his brother Sanwar Lal, initially planned to conduct the marriage of their daughters on the occasion of Akshay Tritiya on April 30. However, the marriage took place a day before.
“Police met the family on April 29 morning, warned them and also sent an additional police team in the village for the children’s protection,” said Kailash Vishnoi, the station house officer (SHO) of the Bhilwara Sadar police station.
The SHO further added that Gopal has six minor daughters. Four of them — 16, 13, 10, and 7 years old — were married off on April 29 along with Sanwar’s 5-year-old daughter. “Police suspect that two of the five grooms are also minor. However, this fact is yet to be ascertained,” Vishnoi said.
He said, “Child marriages are a common practice in Rajasthan during Akshay Tritiya. Therefore, the police team was taking preparation to deploy force across the villages to keep a watch. Upon receiving this information, we also visited Gopal and Sanwar and warned them several times. However, soon after police left their place on April 29, they contacted the grooms’ families, took them in a desolated field and married the girls off secretly at night.”
“Though the locals raised a suspicion next morning that they were already married off, there was no substantial evidence against them. All the family members as well as the girls denied the matter. We started probing the matter. Meanwhile, they took the couples to a temple on Thursday to perform a wedding ritual during which they were caught on the CCTV camera,” said Vishnoi.
He said that police immediately lodged a FIR against Gopal, Sanwar, and the fathers of five grooms- Amar Chand, Narayan Reeth, Devilal Gadri, Shankar Suvana, and Gopal Gadri, under sections 9, 10, and 11 of the Protection of Child Marriage Act, 2006.
“The victims are yet staying with their own family now. We will contact the child welfare committee to rescue them and ensure their further safety. We are also under the process to arrest all the accused. Further investigation is underway,” said Vishnoi.
