How A Minor Girl's Timely Message Stopped A Child Marriage

In Hyderabad, a minor girl's timely WhatsApp message to the Rachakonda police control room helped stop a child marriage.

The 17-year-old girl sent was being married off to a 30-year-old man against her wishes. She sent a short video along with her wedding card and Aadhaar card to the police control room number and urged the cops to stop her marriage.

In the message, the girl wrote, "I am a 17-year-old Intermediate II year student. My family is trying to marry me off against my will. I want you to stop this marriage. Please help me."

Suggested Reading: How Lalita Duhariya Became Bal Sarpanch And Stopped Child Marriage

Girl Stops Child Marriage

Rachakonda commissioner DS Chauhan immediately responded and sent a team under Hayathnagar DI Niranjan, a She Team, which exclusively addressed violence against women, along with women and child welfare department officials to the scene.

The team did not call the minor girl as they didn't want to alert the family.

Vanasthalipuram ACP K Purushotham Reddy said, "The wedding was scheduled for Wednesday morning at Pedda Amberpet and our team located her house near the bus depot".

The girl's family could not produce any age proof and the childline officials spoke with the girl separately and confirmed that she was against the marriage.

The 30-year-old groom-to-be spoke with the police and claimed that he was unaware the girl was a minor. The girl was later shifted to Sakhi centre in Hayathnagar.

Similar Case

In a similar incident, a 16-year-old from Koderma, Jharkhand went against her family's wishes and cancelled her own wedding in 2021.

The girl, Radha Pandey was against getting married off as a child but her parents were adamant that she get married. They fixed her marriage to a boy in a neighbouring village and Pandey spoke to the groom's father and urged him to cancel the wedding.

At the time, Pandey was also the head of the Bal Panchayat of Tikait Tola and frequently handled cases of child marriage. She was backed with the community's support and the groom's father called off the wedding fearing police action.