Cracking Down on Childhood Injustice: A Case of Forced Marriage and Trafficking
Five individuals face charges over the forced marriage of a tribal minor girl in Maharashtra’s Palghar district. The girl, just 14, was trafficked and married off. The accused, including family members and an agent, are charged under several laws for rape, trafficking, and child marriage violations.
- Country:
- India
A case has been filed against five individuals linked to the forced marriage of a minor tribal girl from Maharashtra's Palghar district, officials reported. The Wada police station registered the complaint by the 16-year-old, a member of the Katkari tribal community, against her husband, aunt, uncle, and an agent.
The girl reportedly lost her father a few years prior, and after her mother remarried, she went to live with her grandmother. Following her grandmother's passing, an agent paid the girl's mother Rs 50,000, taking her to Ahilyanagar where she was forcibly married at 14. After becoming pregnant, a fake Aadhaar card facilitated her hospital admission in Wada, according to the complaint.
Post childbirth, the girl faced harassment and demands for repayment, investigators said. The accused are charged under Indian Penal Code provisions and acts addressing rape, human trafficking, child marriage, and offenses against Scheduled Castes and Tribes.
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