Adult or minor? Madhya Pradesh cops reach Kochi as viral Kumbh Mela girl's inter-faith marriage sparks storm

KOCHI: A team of Madhya Pradesh police on Thursday arrived in Kochi on Thursday to investigate the controversial marriage of the viral Kumbh Mela girl in Kerala, amid claims that the influencer is a minor.

The woman was allowed to marry her partner in Kerala after authorities here verified her documents and asserted that she was legally an adult. However, her family was reportedly claiming that she was yet to turn 18.

After the Madhya Pradesh police team arrived in Kochi, the couple approached Kerala Police seeking protection. The woman is learnt to have submitted a request to the Kochi City police commissioner, seeking to prevent her from being forcefully taken back to her home state.

Speaking to reporters, police commissioner Kaliraj Mahesh Kumar said that local authorities have already served the MP team with a copy of the Kerala high court order preventing the arrest of her partner till May 20.

The commissioner, however, refused to comment on the specific purpose of the MP team's visit. However, police sources said that the team must have intended to record statements and, if possible, take the woman into custody, claiming that her age is disputed as per Madhya Pradesh records.

The woman has repeatedly asserted that she is 18 years old. According to sources, the MP team, consisting of four officials, reached Kochi by tracing the phone of her partner's friend. The team reached as far as Thrikkakara by tracing the phone signal. But the person of interest was not available at the location, sources said. The team is learnt to have contacted him by phone and directed him to appear before them.

The controversy relates to the marriage between the pair on March 1 at a temple in Thiruvananthapuram. The interfaith marriage received national attention, and senior CPM leaders, including state secretary M V Govindan and education minister V Sivankutty, attended the ceremony.

Soon after the wedding, her family claimed that she was only 16, even as the couple presented documents, including her Aadhaar card, stating she was 18.

National Commission for Scheduled Tribes later conducted an inquiry and reportedly found that her birth date was Dec 30, 2009, and deemed the marriage to be illegal.

The commission then directed MP police to register a case against her partner under Pocso Act for allegedly marrying a minor. However, so far, only a case of abduction under Section 137(2) has been filed against him, sources said.

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