Child marriage in Ludhiana: 16-year-old girl’s mother, groom booked

Girl’s father approached the police after his son informed him about the marriage.

Acting on a case of a child marriage, the Salem Tabri police in Ludhiana have booked the groom, the minor girl’s mother and her aide.

The accused have been identified as Pooja Verma of Preet Nagar of Moga, Gurwinder Gill and Gaurav.

The matter came to fore on the complaint of the father of the 16-year-old girl. Parmod Kumar Verma, 39, of Kanija village, told the police that he and Pooja had three children – Kashish, 16, Nikhil, 14 and Chahat, 5.

His wife had been living separately since September 12, 2018. A few days ago, his son told him that Pooja had married off Kashish to a Moga man.

On digging deeper, he found out Kashish was forcibly married off to one Gurwinder Gill and approached the police.

Additional deputy commissioner of police (ADCP, City 1) Deepak Pareek said following the father’s complaint, Pooja, Gurwinder and her aide, Gaurav, were booked under Sections 9 and 10 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. “The minor girl was sent to a shelter home,” the ADCP added. No arrests have been made yet.