29-year-old carries off minor girl after forcibly marrying her

BENGALURU: A case has been registered against a 29-year-old youth for trying to carry off a 14-year-old girl after marrying her forcibly. The complaint is against Madesh from a village called Kalikuttai in Karnataka. He married a girl from a village called Thottamanju near Tamil Nadu. The incident happened on March 3. The incident came to light after a video of him forcibly marrying a seventh-class girl and carrying her off went viral on social media. The wedding was in Bengaluru.

The video shows Madesh carrying off the girl as she screams and runs away. The youth’s brother Mallesh and another woman are also seen in the footage. The unusual incidents took place when the girl refused to go with the youth after the wedding. The girl cried and told her parents and relatives, but no one helped the girl. The video was taken by the people there and posted on social media. The girl's grandmother has filed a complaint in the incident. The women's police in Denganikottai are investigating.

Madesh, his brother and the girl's mother Nagamma were arrested in the case on Wednesday itself. The girl's father and Mallesh's wife were arrested this morning. A case has been registered against them under the POCSO Act and the Child Marriage Act. They have been charged with sections that carry a two-year jail term and a fine of Rs 1 lakh. The girl is now safe with her grandmother.

Marrying minors is illegal in India. However, child marriage is still practiced in rural villages of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand. Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh. According to the figures released in 2023-24, 180 child marriages have been reported in Karnataka.