SAMBALPUR: The Childline unit of Rairakhol along with police foiled a child marriage at Batgaon village on June 21.
Sources said Harijan Samaj president Sesadeb Naik and a few others had filed a complaint at Naktideul police station stating that a minor girl is being married off by her parents.
Later, Childline convenor Sanjay Sagar and Naktideul Child Development Project Officer (CDPO) along with a police team went to the girl’s house where they verified her age based on her school certificate.
Later, the Childline officials counselled the girl’s parents. Sagar said such cases have become common in Jamankira, Rengali, Jujomura and nearby blocks.
This has raised concerns of alleged trafficking of minor girls in the guise of child marriage.
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In December last year, the Childline had foiled the marriage of five minor girls in a mass ceremony. This year, five child marriages have been foiled by Childline till date.
A few social experts feel that minor girls or their families are being influenced or forced to marry against their wishes and then sent to states with low sex ratio.
District Social Welfare Officer Gitanjali Rath said Anganwadi workers have been directed to collect inputs in this regard at the grassroots level.
While new measures to curb child marriages are still underway, as per Child Marriage Restraint Act, people involved in such cases are liable to pay a fine of Rs 1 lakh and imprisonment for two years.