MINOR BOY SEEKS POLICE HELP AFTER FATHER TRIES TO GET HIM MARRIED

SHRAWASTI: Not ready to compromise with his studies, a Class 9 boy has lodged a police complaint against his father for forcibly trying to marry him here in Shrawasti.

In the complaint, the minor boy has pleaded the police to intervene in the matter and help prevent his marriage with a girl, who is also a minor.

The permissible age for marriage is 18 years for girls and 21 years for boys.

“I tried to convince my father that I want to complete my studies and make a decent career but he is adamant on getting me married,” said Hanuman Prasad, 15, while talking to Hindustan Times.

The boy is a resident of Gadariyanpurwa village under Malhipur police station.

While a case is yet to be registered, station officer (SO) Wakeel Pandey said family members have been summoned at the police station and they would be asked to defer the plan as child marriage was a crime.

“Legal action, including registration of an FIR against family members, will be taken if efforts to convince the parents do not yield results,” said the SO. Cases of child marriages in Bahraich and Shrawasti districts are rampant.

According to a 2008 household survey report, about 86% girls and 72% boys got married before the legal permissible age here in rural parts of both the districts.

Sanjay Awasthi, member, Child Welfare Committee, Bahraich, said a campaign like ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’ was needed to curb the child marriage practice in the region.