HYDERABAD: The pandals were decked with flowers and the bride-to-be was clad in a brand new saree receiving blessings from her relatives at the pre-matrimonial ceremony, when SHE Teams and NGO workers knocked on their doors.
When the doors were opened, it came to light that the bride-to-be was a minor aged 16 and was about to be married off to a man 8 years older to her in two days. The incident which took place in Ramanthapur in Uppal on Wednesday, involved the mother and other relatives of the girl fixing her marriage even as she was studying in Class 10.
When the SHE Teams along with Uppal police and NGO Balala Hakula Sangham came to know about the incident, they rushed to the location to stop it.
“The girl had been adopted as the couple was unable to conceive for years. The girl’s adoptive father eventually married another woman and settled elsewhere leaving this woman to raise the child,” said Ravinder Reddy, SI SHE Teams Malkajgiri.
While the reason for the girl’s adoptive mother deciding to marry her off remains uncertain, police says it was a clear case of discrimination. At present, the girl has been sent to the Girls Home in Nimboliadda.