The wedding of a minor girl was averted with timely intervention of officials of the Women and Child Welfare and Police departments and activists of Child Rights Protection Forum here on Thursday.
M. Harikrishna (25) planned to marry the girl at the Venkateswara temple near Peda Waltair on Thursday night. An outsourced employee in the Endowments Department, Harikrishna is a native of Jalumuru area in Srikakulam district. The girl is also a native of Jalumuru. The parents of Harikrishna and the girl had decided to perform the marriage in the city and made arrangements for the wedding. On a tip-off, G. Seetaram of the Child Rights Protection Forum, G Rajakumari of Women and Child Welfare Department and Inspector of III-Town (MVP-Zone) S. Vidya Sagar reached the spot and stopped the marriage.
The parents of the girl failed to produce any document to claim that the girl was above 18 years of age. The police and the officials counselled the groom and over a dozen others. The officials also took an undertaking from the parents of the girl that they would not perform her marriage till she completed 18 years of age.