Hyderabad police arrested a 48-year-old head constable for trying to marry a 15-year-old girl with whom he had been in an illicit relationship for the last one year on Thursday night .
The constable Mahboob, father of five children, was planning to marry the minor girl at his Kamatipura residence in the old city of Hyderabad on Friday morning. Ironically, he was also scheduled to perform the engagement of his eldest daughter in the evening.
Mahboob was produced before the court on Friday and remanded to two-week judicial custody.
According to deputy commissioner of police (South Zone) V Satyanarayana, the head constable attached to Kamatipura police station, developed illicit relationship with the minor girl staying in the neighbourhood, as his wife had been suffering from a prolonged illness. He also forced her parents to agree for the relationship by promising to marry her. He even reportedly promised to transfer some of his properties in her name.
The head constable took the minor girl to different places including Gulbarga, Goa and Mumbai for pleasure trips with the consent of her parents in the past one year. "Her father used to drop her at the railway station and bus station, forcing her to go with him", the official said.
{{/usCountry}}The head constable took the minor girl to different places including Gulbarga, Goa and Mumbai for pleasure trips with the consent of her parents in the past one year. "Her father used to drop her at the railway station and bus station, forcing her to go with him", the official said.
{{/usCountry}}On Friday evening, Mahboob fixed the engagement ceremony of his eldest daughter. But before that, he thought of solemnising his marriage with the minor girl in the morning. As he was making preparation for his Nikah, the police got the tip off from her elder sister. They raided his house and took him into custody.
However, the parents of the minor girl refused to lodge a formal complaint and resisted the arrest, saying the marriage was being performed with their consent. They insisted that the police should not interfere in this matter.
"Since Mahboob was a public servant, he has to obtain the department permission for the second marriage, even if it was as per their religious customs. We arrested him on grounds of violating service and conduct rules,” the DCP said.
The police sent the girl for medical examination and ordered a departmental enquiry against Mahboob. He was booked under Protection of Child from Sexual Offences (POCSCO) Act, 2012, besides kidnapping and raping sections of the IPC.