Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): Around 300 cases of minor girls eloping with their boyfriends or running away from their homes to meet them have been reported at the Gauravi One Stop Crisis Centre in the city this year so far. They include around 50 cases where teenage girls ran away with or married their social media male friends.
Many of these girls got intimate with their friends, with some becoming pregnant. In all cases, the boyfriends have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), which says that having a physical relationship with a minor, even with his or her consent, is an offence. Marriages in which one or both partners are minors are also invalid.
In most such cases, girls’ parents lodge missing person reports with the police. Police trace them and bring them to the Gauravi Centre, where they are counselled and provided legal help. Many a time, parents don’t want to register FIRs for fear of social stigma. Pregnancies are terminated.
According to Soumya Saxena from the Centre, social media platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat have emerged as a major factor behind such elopements. A married man can claim that he is unmarried, a middle-aged man can claim that he is a young chap, photographs can be morphed, and girls can be blackmailed.
Social media platforms have made it possible to develop long-distance relationships. It is also easy to give wrong information about oneself while chatting on WhatsApp, Instagram, etc. That has led to a surge in cases of minor girls and even married women eloping. “We counsel them and provide legal and medical help,” Saxena added.
Case 1
A 15-year-old girl left her home in Rewa to meet her boyfriend, whom she met on social media, in Bhopal. But he refused to meet her, apparently because his lies would have been exposed. Her parents were summoned, and they took her back with them.
Case 2
A 16-year-old girl from a southern state reached Bhopal to give a ‘surprise’ to her Instagram friend, who was an Army personnel. The girl knew neither Hindi nor English, and the Gauravi Centre had to use the services of an interpreter to counsel her.
Case 3
A 14-year-old girl from a remote village in West Bengal landed in Bhopal and was brought to the Centre. Her parents were so poor that even after being informed, they could not come to take her back. Ultimately, after a long time, a team of cops from West Bengal came to pick her up.
Case 4
A girl and a boy, both 16-17 years of age, met on Facebook and then in person. They got intimate, and the girl conceived. She and her parents were not interested in filing an FIR. Her pregnancy was terminated, and she was sent home with her parents.
