Maha Kumbh viral girl ‘found’ to be minor

Khargone: Police in Khargone district of Madhya Pradesh are set to file additional charges against Farman Khan, accused in a controversial marriage case involving a tribal girl from Maheshwar town, after the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes (NCST) concluded that the girl is a minor.Kidnapping charges have already been registered against Khan at Maheshwar police station. A senior police official confirmed that additional sections, including under the Pocso Act, may be added as the investigation progresses.The NCST inquiry was initiated after UP-based social worker Pratham Dubey filed a complaint on March 17. A special investigation team visited both Kerala and Maheshwar. NCST Chairman Antar Singh Arya told TOI that the team ‘collected relevant documents' and confirmed the girl belongs to a Scheduled Tribe community and is a minor. The Commission has sought an action taken report from the Madhya Pradesh DGP and Khargone district authorities within three days.Investigators found discrepancies in the girl's birth records — an affidavit-based certificate listed her date of birth as January 1, 2008, while Community Health Centre records showed December 30, 2009. Officials at the Kerala temple where the marriage took place said they had no prior acquaintance with the couple and that Aadhaar cannot be treated as valid proof of date of birth. The girl was around 16 years and two months old at the time of the March 11 marriage.The National Human Rights Commission has also issued a notice to the Khargone superintendent of police. The girl's parents have appealed to authorities for her immediate return.