TIRUPATTUR: Officials from the Childline and the District Social Welfare Office (DSWO), along with the police, foiled a child marriage hours before the scheduled time, at Kuppam in Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh. A 17-year-old girl was arranged to wed a 25-year-old man at Someshwaraswamy temple in Palayapettai village on Thursday morning.
The girl is a resident of Jolarpet in Tirupattur, and is a class 12 student at a government school there. “Based on a tip-off, a team intercepted the bride’s family heading to Kuppam and rescued the girl, on Wednesday night,” said KS Devendiran, Childline’s district coordinator. The girl was handed over to Vellore DSWO on Thursday, and an inquiry was started to put her up at a reception home, he added.