Mumbai: A 22-year-old man has been arrested by the police for allegedly marrying a 16-year-old minor girl and impregnating her.
The matter surfaced when the couple went to a maternity hospital for a regular check-up and the doctor inquired the girl about her age. She told the doctor that she was 16-year-old, and that she married her husband when she was 15. Being underage, and four months pregnant, the hospital authorities informed the Mankhurd police about the matter.
Couple from Tamil Nadu
According to the police, the couple originally hails from Tamil Nadu. The accused man, had come to Mumbai looking for job, and brought the girl along with him. While the police are still not sure how and where they got married, they said the couple have been living together which the police got to know during spot panchnama.
The minor girl must have been 11-years-old when they got married, said the police adding that her parents must have been unaware about the happening since they live in Tamil Nadu. The police have registered a case as the girl is underage, and they couldn't locate her parents at the time.
Police seek help of language translator
During further interrogation, the man revealed that he works at a housekeeping company located in Belapur, Navi Mumbai. "Both the girl and the man don't know the local language, which is disrupting our investigation. We are currently looking for a translator, and also the accused's parents and the victim's parents as part of further probe. For now, the man was remanded to police custody by the court," said a senior official at Mankhurd Police Station.
In the FIR against the accused, police have included sections of the Indian Penal Code, Protection of Children against Sexual Offences (POCSO), and the Child Marriage Prevention Act.
