Bhopal: Hundreds of villagers turn violent as 5 child marriages stopped

Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Hundreds of villagers turned violent as Vidisha Social Welfare Organisation (VSWO) stopped five child marriages on Monday. When the five-member team of VSWO, one of the partner organisations of Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation (KSCF), along with child helpline counsellor and the police team reached Lateri tehsil to stop five child marriages, hundreds of villagers and family members raised protest.

The villagers became violent and even gheraoed police station when the team reached there. The team was finally able to stop the marriages of children who were less than 17 years of age, but not before putting up a tough fight with the huge crowd who were ready to go to any extreme to conduct marriages. “We went there to stop child marriages but we had no idea that the situation would turn violent and we would rush to police station for security.

Over 200 people surrounded police station in protest as well,” Deepa Sharma, counsellor, Childline team, Vidisha, said. Two other marriages were taking place in the tribal area. When the team reached the venue, the villagers took out swords and weapons to stop them from stalling weddings.

It required much persuasion and arguments before the families agreed to stop the marriages. “This action is a positive message against child marriage in the district and will help in spreading awareness among masses,” Ram Raghuvanshi, managing director, VSWO, said.