Seven arrested for allegedly marrying off minor in Madhya Pradesh

An offence has been registered against seven persons for allegedly marrying off a 15-year-old girl in Madhya Pradesh’s Indore district, police said on Sunday.

Based on a complaint by an official of the women and child development department, a probe was undertaken into the marriage of an underage girl from Mhow to a 24-year-old man from Dhar district, Manpur police station in-charge Arun Solanki said.

The wedding took place at a temple in Manpur on November 29, 2023, it was stated.

Documents related to the girl’s age were recovered, and the complaint was found correct during the probe, after which a case under the Child Marriages Prohibition Act was registered on Saturday evening, the official said.

The girl's parents, groom and his father, the priest, who had solemnised the marriage, and two others have been named as accused in the case, he said.

Provisions of other acts will be added in the case after recording the statements of the accused, Solanki said.

Child marriage invites two years of rigorous imprisonment or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.