Sarpanch in MP fired for attempting to marry 12-year-old girl

The local administration inquired about his marriage, and was told by villagers at his Bahrar Jagir village that the girl was just 12.

Published on: Dec 27, 2017, 22:55:49 IST

Hindustan Times, Bhopal | By Shruti Tomar

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Jagannath Gurjar’s dream of a lavish wedding proved to be his undoing.

A village chief in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district allegedly forged documents to marry a 12-year-old girl. (HT File Photo)

The 56-year-old village chief in Madhya Pradesh’s Morena district allegedly forged documents to marry a 12-year-old girl. He was planning a big splash at his marriage ceremony for months, and had booked a helicopter ride for the December 11 wedding.

But his application to build a temporary helipad brought about his downfall.

The local administration started to inquire about his marriage, and was told by villagers at his Bahrar Jagir village that the girl was just 12. The authorities then dispatched a joint team of district and child development department officials to the wedding. “Gurjar showed fake documents proving the girl an adult. When administration cross checked the documents from her school, she was found to be only 12 years old,” said Bhaskar Lakshakar, collector of Morena.

He has now been dismissed from his position and barred from contesting local body polls for six years. A police complaint of fraud was also registered against him and another person for allegedly faking documents.

Gurjar has dismissed the charges and claimed the girl was 19. “I fixed the marriage three years ago but couldn’t marry her because she was a minor at that time. I have a medical certificate which proves that the girl is an adult,” he said. The girl’s family refused to comment.

District officials told HT that Gurjar’s first wife, in her 40s, lives with him and he took a “no-objection certificate” from her. This is the first time that a public official has been sacked on such allegations in a state where child marriages are prevalent.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Shruti Tomar
I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More

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