Admn’s timely intervention prevents minor’s wedding

A team of the administration arrived just in time to stop the wedding of a minor girl in Sriganganagar. On getting information about this, the Abohar-based family of the groom went back mid-way with the ‘baraat’.

The administration received information that a minor girl was being married by a family of Dhanak community in Ram Lal Colony in Chak 3E village. On the orders of Assistant Director of Child Empowerment Department, Rajeev Jakhar, Child Helpline coordinator Trilok Verma, Child Welfare Committee (CWC) president Joginder Kaushik, revenue patwari Basant Yadav, councillor Deepak Choudhary and police station, Jawaharnagar, cop Sher Singh reached the wedding venue.

The ‘baraat’ from Abohar was about to reach the village. Wedding songs were being sung while the guests and relatives were having snacks and sweets. All came to a halt when the team reached and asked for proof that the girl had completed the marriageable age of 18 years.

The girl’s parents presented her Aadhar card and age-related documents, in which she was not found eligible for marriage as her date of birth was January 2, 2008. The family was told that they could not marry the girl until she completed 18 years of age. An undertaking was taken from the family and relatives in this regard.

To prevent the same to happen again, Child Welfare Committee chairman Joginder Kaushik has deployed an anganwadi worker and a policeman on duty to monitor the family. Meantime, the caterer, DJ team and the priest who had been called for the marriage also fled.