KENDRAPARA: At least four officials of the Child Helpline suffered injuries after they were allegedly assaulted while attempting to stop the marriage of a 16-year-old girl at Sakhibata in Kendrapara’s Marsaghai block on Thursday evening.
District Child Helpline coordinator Saina Parida said some locals informed the administration about the child marriage in advance. Following the tip-off, a team of officials led by Parida reached the spot when wedding preparations were underway. The officials asked for the birth certificates of both the bride and groom. “When we asked for the documents, some relatives of the bride and groom assaulted us in a fit of rage,” Parida said.
The groom reportedly fled the spot after the attack. The team later found that the bride, a 16-year-old girl from a village under Kudanagari police limits, was being married to a 40-year-old man from Srutipur village in Marsaghai. The officials said the marriage was prevented.
Child development project officer (CDPO) of Marsaghai Silabala Chasi said, “After verifying the documents, we found that the girl is a minor. It has been learnt that her father had agreed to marry off his underage daughter due to acute poverty.”
Parida said the Child Helpline officials have lodged a complaint in Kudanagari police station against the persons involved in the attack.
Kudanagari IIC Jagannath Panigrahi said basing on the complaint, a case has been registered under relevant sections of the BNS. “Police have launched an investigation into the incident. All the accused will be arrested soon,” he added.
CDPO Chasi said as per law, the marriage of a boy below 21 years and a girl below 18 years is an offence under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and is punishable with up to two years of rigorous imprisonment or a fine of `1 lakh, or both.