- Missing Gwalior girl found, revealed to be 17-year-old minor.
- Police uncover child marriage, POCSO charges filed.
- High Court orders probe against parents, in-laws, husband.
Fifteen days after a man from Madhya Pradesh's Dwalior filed a missing person complaint about his 19-year-old daughter, the police found her in Uttar Pradesh's Noida, only to find her a minor and a victim of child marriage.
On June 12, a resident of the government multi-storey building at Sagartal in Bahodarpur filed a complaint that his 19-year-old daughter had gone missing. Police registered a missing person report and launched a search for her.
The man also filed a habeas corpus petition in the Gwalior High Court, after which the police swung into action and recovered her two days ago.
Kishan, who took the girl, was arrested
She was taken to Noida by a person named Kishan Khatik, who was arrested by the police. The police had brought both the girl and Kishan to Gwalior and presented them in the court.
While Kishan was sent to judicial custody, the girl's marksheet revealed that she wasn't 19 but 17 years of age. The police were unaware of the matter until then. Kishan was booked under the POCSO Act and kidnapping charges.
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It was also revealed that the complainant had married off her daughter while she was a minor. As she didn't want to live with her husband, she eloped with Kishan.
What did the police say?
Alok Singh Parihar, Police Station Officer, Bahodapur, said, "The girl's father reported her disappearance. A missing person report was filed based on this. When she was presented in court, it was revealed that she was a minor. The accused who took the girl has been arrested and sent to jail. A child marriage was also performed. The father himself orchestrated this."
The High Court has taken note of the matter and has ordered the police to arrest those responsible for child marriage within 15 days. The police have now turned the investigation against her parents, in-laws and husband.