Childline Silchar rescues alleged child bride in Cachar; "Affair led to families getting them married," Officer

A girl should be 18-year-old before she is married. This is the law of the land. However, in villages and at times even in towns and cities, girls get married before they turn 18 and that too with grooms double, triple… their age. Two such instances came to fore in Cachar district.

In Buribail Part III which is located under Borkhola Police Station, a 16-year-old allegedly got married yesterday. Childline – 1098 got the information and a team led by Legal cum Probation officer, District Child Protection Unit Parvin Akhtar Mazumdar and Outrage Worker Bidyuth Nath along with officials from Childline and personnel of Bangarpar Police Patrol Post, reached the house of the newly-wed today to rescue the child.

“There was a party at the groom’s house and gathering greeted us with some resistance initially. The information that we got asserts that the girl is just 16-year-old. However, her age is yet to be verified for which we will have to depend on the documents. The family committed to furnish them on November 16,” said Legal cum Probation officer, District Child Protection Unit Parvin Akhtar Mazumdar.

The team informed the families involved in the wedding that no one is getting arrested and the bride will be taken to a home. After which, Mazumdar says they cooperated. “She was wearing her bridal outfit and the family got her a change and walked her to us. There was no mishap,” the officer informed.

“According to the statement of the girl, they had an affair that led to the families arranging the marriage. She said that they informed their respective families and then both parties gave their consent following which they had a social marriage,” adds Parvin Akhtar Mazumdar. The groom in this case happens to be a 29-year-old man.

It was not the only case of child marriage that the 1098 Childline’s Silchar team was chasing on November 15. The team along with Arunachal Police Outpost personnel went to Srikona at a residence in Patharigram Rajnagar. In this case, the family of the bride lodged a Police complaint that a man has eloped with their minor daughter.

“When we reached the residence, it was open with no one inside. We suspect they absconded after noticing us. Here also the bride is allegedly a minor,” added Mazumdar. She urged the people of Cachar district to dial 1098 which is a toll-free number and complain whenever there is a crime against child or child marriage. She assured that the identity of the complainant will not be disclosed under any circumstances and that anonymity will be respected.

It is worth mentioning here that Childline was first started as a field action project of the Department of Family and Child Welfare, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) Mumbai, in June 1996. It was founded by Ms. Jeroo Billimoria, then a professor at TISS. Between 1997 and 2000, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment agreed to fund CHILDLINE at the national level. The Government committed that by 2002, CHILDLINE would be in every Indian city with a population of 10 million.

In 2006-07, the Ministry for Women and Child Development (MWCD) granted the exclusive ‘Nodal Mother NGO’ status to CHILDLINE India Foundation in order to set up CHILDLINE services across the country. Subsequently, CHILDLINE India Foundation became established as an umbrella organization to identify, provide support services and to monitor efficient service delivery of the centres at various locations. It serves as a link between the Ministry and the NGOs in the field. The CHILDLINE 1098 service has received a special mention in the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.