Girl, 16, wants to continue studies, gets parents, bridegroom arrested

ALMORA: A 16-year old girl studying in Class X in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand, who was married off in a hurry to a 26-year old from Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, got five people, including her parents and the groom, arrested for weaning her off school.
The arrests were made on Thursday night after an anonymous call was received at Child Line India, an NGO.The caller informed that a girl near Chandak in Pithoragarh town had just been married off to a person in Uttar Pradesh. The NGO immediately forwarded the information to the police. An alert was then issued and all police check posts along the way were directed to keep a watch on vehicles carrying the "bride and groom". At Ghat, 30 km from Pithoragarh, the police intercepted the car with the young girl inside it. On being questioned, the girl told the police that the men inside, her new husband Deepak Kumar and two of his uncles, had indeed come for the wedding on Wednesday, which was against her wishes.
The girl, studying in Class X in a Pithoragarh school, told the police she'd want to continue with her studies. Soon, the police arrested the three men immediately, and the girl’s parents on Thursday night, and charged them under various sections of the IPC. Roshan Lal Sharma, SP of Pithoragarh, told TOI, “Although the parents have denied taking money, according to information we have, they did so. We will be interrogating all those arrested. The girl’s statements are also being recorded. ”
The police have now put the girl in the custody of Childline India, which assisted the police in rescuing her. Renu Thakur of Childline India told TOI, "The girl comes from a poor family. But she wants to study further. She had told the parents and the bridegroom that she will marry only after she finishes her class XII. Because the girl wishes to continue her studies, we will try to talk with the principal of her school so that she doesn't suffer humiliation when she goes back. Also, we can't keep the girl in our custody because she is a child. We have to hand her over to a close relative very soon."