VELLORE: Three days before solemnising a marriage involving a girl child, the officials of District Social Welfare Office (DSWO) stopped the event by rescuing a 13-year-old ‘bride’ at Sathuvachari in Vellore on Saturday.
The girl’s family from Bengaluru had reached Vellore without an e-pass, with the plan to make arrangements for the marriage. This was the second attempt by the family to marry off the girl to a 24-year-old man.
She is a school student studying in Class VIII in Bengaluru. The girl’s mother and uncle brought her to Vellore in a two-wheeler about two days ago in order to prepare for the wedding that was scheduled to take place at Chelliamman Kovil in Vellore New Bus Stand on June 24, a DSWO official said.
After the passing away of the girl’s father, the mother and uncle had been looking after her. The family earns a living by selling jute bags. Being a fatherless child, the girl’s mother and relatives decided to get her married to a relative from Polur in Tiruvannamalai.
Based on information, the DSWO officials went to Sathuvachari, rescued the girl and admitted her to a local home. After a Covid test, she would be shifted to the children’s home in Walajah.
Emotional blackmail
The girl was emotionally blackmailed by her mother that if she didn’t consent for the marriage, she would see her mother dead. But, the matter was taken to the knowledge of Vellore All Women Police by the minor’s aunt