Mumbai, April 19: In a rare case, four people, including the husband and mother of a 15-year-old, have been arrested by the Cuffe Parade police on Friday under the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
The husband has also been booked on charges of rape, while others arrested included a witness and pujari.
The police said that despite knowing that her daughter is a minor, Meena Gohil, a Cuffe Parade resident, got her married to Pawankumar Singh. The victim then started living with Singh and his family, where he started a physical relationship with her.
“She had tried escaping from her in-laws’ place after suffering mental and physical harassment. We learnt about this marriage through our independent sources and registered a case suo moto against the culprits. Singh has been also booked on rape charges,” said an official.
He added that Singh and Gohil were nabbed first and later the witness Shahid Bahuddin Shaikh and pujari Jeevach Ayodhya Mishra. All are in police custody.
Former IPS officer and lawyer YP Singh said, “Such cases are generally found in villages and are rare in a city like Mumbai. Most of the time, the police hardly register such cases. The offence is cognisable and bailable and quantum of punishment is a maximum of three months’ imprisonment.”
He added that rape charges cannot sustain if the marriage has taken place. “Under section 375 of the IPC wife is excluded from the rape category, whereas if a girl below 16 voluntarily gets into a physical relationship with a 21-year-old man who is not her husband, it will amount to rape,” Singh said.
“If a girl elopes and her parents are against it then they lodge a complaint, but if parents have arranged the marriage unless there is some complaint registered such cases don’t come on record. In such cases, we take a bond from the parents and keep the girl under supervision and counsel her,” said Shaila Mhatre from the Child Welfare Committee.
She added that rarely action is taken against parents even if child marriage cases come to light. “Prompt police action in such cases will surely work as a deterrent and spread awareness among citizens. In cases wherein a girl is forcibly married, she can be kept in the CWC institution till she turns a major,” she said.
–Agencies–