VELLORE: In two days, Childline officials have stopped five child marriages that were scheduled to take place in five different locations in the district between June 9 and 13. The marriages were stopped based on information received on the Childline helpline number 1098. While three marriages were stopped on Wednesday, two were stopped on Thursday.
In Anaicut, the marriage between a 15-year-old girl and a 24-year-old man that was scheduled to be solemnised on June 13 (Monday) was stopped. In Kaniyambadi block, officials thwarted the marriage of a 15-year-old girl to a 27-year-old man, which was scheduled to take place on June 10, one day before the event.
Childline District Coordinator KS Devendiran told TNIE, “The girl was rescued and admitted to a government reception home.” Both the girls were Class 10 students in government schools. Of the marriages stopped on Wednesday, two were scheduled to be held on June 10 (Friday) in Karukamputhur and Voosoor. The two girls were aged 16 and 14 and their grooms were 26 and 25 years of age respectively.
Another case was the marriage of a 17-year-old girl Class 12 girl to a 22-year-old man, scheduled to take place in Gudiyatham on June 9. Officials of the Childline, District Social Welfare Office (DSWO), revenue, and police department personnel were were involved in stopping the marriages.
Except the 15-year-old girl who was admitted to the reception home, the other girls were sent back to their parents to let them continue their education after the parents assured that they would not make a child marriage attempt again.