Kolkata: Three people were arrested by Haridevpur Police on Sunday for their involvement in child marriage, abduction, and sexual abuse of a minor under the Pocso Act.
The accused include the child’s father, her husband and her mother-in-law, said cops. The teenage girl, hailing from Nodakhali in South 24 Parganas, went missing nearly a month and a half ago after eloping with a youth from Haridevpur. He then married the minor and brought her to his home.
Despite being aware that the girl is underage, the mother-in-law welcomed her, allowing her to live there as a married woman. The situation took a turn when funds from the govt’s ‘Kanyaratna’ welfare scheme were deposited into the minor’s bank account. Upon learning of the transfer, the girl’s father contacted her in-laws, stating he had no objection to her remaining at her in-law’s home as long as she transferred the monthly stipend to him. The father reportedly repeated these demands directly to his daughter over the phone, urging her to return to her paternal home to withdraw the money.
However, when the girl refused to comply with her father’s demands he approached a local NGO, alleging that his daughter had been married off unlawfully. Acting on the NGO’s alert, officers arrested the accused. During the probe, police discovered that the father had never filed a missing person report and intentionally suppressed the news of the marriage and only sought police intervention after his attempts to extort the funds failed.