BENGALURU: A timely alert by The New Indian Express team thwarted the marriage of a minor girl at a remote village in HD Kote taluk of Mysuru on Thursday. The girl, pursuing firstyear PU, was being forced into wedlock by her family at Hungalli village in HD Kote taluk. A person, on condition of anonymity, passed the information to TNIE, following which it was brought to the notice of the District Child Protection Officer (DCPO) and police on Wednesday.
DCPO Divakar sent the DCP unit and Anganwadi staff to the village, and found that the family had shifted to Bogadi in Mysuru. Special Juvenile Police Units and other teams fanned out to locate the address of the family. By this time, HD Kote police had traced Krishne Gowda, the girl’s father. Divakar said the function was called off. “The girl’s father said they had only planned to hold the girl’s engagement. They later gave an undertaking to the police,” he said.
When TNIE contacted Krishne Gowda, he said, “We only planned to hold the engagement of our daughter with my sister’s son, and had no plans to get her married now. We were informed that this was illegal. I also went to the police station and gave an undertaking that I won’t force my daughter into marriage until she att a i n s t h e l e g a l l y stipulated age.”