Mom in soup for abduction drama over minor’s marriage

On December 14, Padmavathi (38) a painter from Pugalur village near Velayuthampalayam in Karur district, called the Childline and alleged that a youth from Namakkal had abducted and married her minor daughter. The matter was referred to their counterparts in Namakkal, as the girl was living there with her husband and mother-in-law. 

However, inquiry with the girl revealed that Padmavathi forced her to get married even as she was a minor studying Class 11 in the current academic year. “The girl claimed that Padmavathi brought more than 20 men to her house to see her. But she refused to marry all of them as they were aged around 30 and 35-years,” a Childline representative told DTNext. 

The 23-year-old boy from Namakkal was the youngest of alliances the girl’s mother had brought home. “Padmavathi reportedly rejected the proposal as the boy was not from a well to do family. But the girl liked him and reached him over phone,” member of the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) in Namakkal S Jayapaul said. Jayapaul who heard the girl’s side told this paper on Wednesday that a few months ago the girl came to Namakkal. He quoted the girl and her husband as saying that Padmavathi tried to convince the girl to come with her. 

With her efforts turning out to be futile, the woman agreed to get them married formally in the presence of the relatives of the boy and the girl. Despite all these developments the woman once again asked the girl to return to Karur with her. As the girl turned down her pleas, the frustrated woman approached Childline in Karur. 

“We have asked the girl, her husband and motherin-law and the girl’s mother who approached the child rescue helpline to appear before the District Social Welfare Officer in Namakkal for an inquiry,” Jayapaul said. Personnel in the Childline and CWC in Namakkal said that they have got in touch with their counterparts in Karur to initiate appropriate action against the mother for arranging her minor daughter’s marriage.