LUCKNOW: A 16-year-old minor was rescued in Sambhal district of western UP just before her marriage, scheduled to take place on Thursday, October 15, 2026, with a 50-year-old widower, in place of Rs 5 lakh assured to her parents.
According to senior police officials, including Nakhasa station house officer Sanjay Kumar and outpost in-charge Ravindra Chaudhary, some child rights organisations, such as Prayatna and Just Right for Children (JRC), got wind of the wedding through a local source.
When the police party, along with officials of the district administration and child rights organisations, reached the site for intervention, they stopped the wedding preparations, which were nearly complete, and the ‘haldi’ ceremony was about to take place on Wednesday, October 14.
The team discovered that rituals were already underway at a house where the girl had been brought and that her parents had already received the assured sum of Rs 5 lakh from the groom.
On finding the police team at the site, which belonged to the alleged middleman, the parents of the minor and the middleman fled, leaving the girl behind, said the police authorities.
While the girl’s parents and the middleman had fled, the middleman’s wife and children were present with the girl in the house.
Subsequently, the minor was taken to a One-Stop Centre by the rescue team before being placed in the care of the district Child Welfare Committee (CWC). After the marriage was stopped, the CWC handed her back to her parents after obtaining an undertaking that any further attempt to arrange such a marriage would invite legal action, said the police authorities.
“This is not just a case of child marriage. There is also an element of trafficking as money was exchanged for the marriage. No child should ever be treated as a commodity. Every girl deserves the chance to grow up, continue her education and decide her own future, rather than have her life determined by a transaction,” said Gaurishankar Chaudhary of child protection group Prayatna.
In her statement to the police, the minor revealed that her family had brought her to the location on false pretences and under the pretext of attending a marriage. Little did she know that it was her own wedding.
The girl said that she realised the reality only after reaching the premises, as the preparations were already underway. Confirming that the ‘haldi’ ceremony was set for that day and the wedding procession was expected on October 15, she expressed relief after the intervention, saying: “You arrived just in time and helped me immensely.”
The girl revealed that her parents were poor and used to work as farm labourers. She was the eldest of five siblings — three sisters and two brothers. None of the children attended school, she told the police.
According to sources, Prayatna had received the alert from JRC, an organisation working towards child protection. According to JRC office-bearer Jitendra Parmar, a local resident had informed the organisation about the proposed marriage between the minor and a 50-year-old widower.