Hyderabad: Around 106 child marriages have been prevented and 104 minor girls in the past four years by the Rachakonda Police Commission which has jurisdiction in the suburbs of Hyderabad.
As per the media reports, the SHE team averted 11 child marriages in the last two months, i.e., Bhongir-5, Choutuppal-2, Kushaiguda-2, Ibrahimpatnam-1 and LB Nagar-1.
Financial distress and indifference towards the education of the girl child cause many families to marry girls even before they reach the age of eighteen.
Last year, there has been an increase in child marriage in Telanagana as lockdown and pandemic have increased financial insecurity, with more than 500 girls being rescued by the police or the Women and Child Welfare Department.
SHE teams under the supervision of Police Commissioner Mahesh M Bhagwat rescued 100 girls between the ages of 13 and 17. In cooperation with self-help groups, they created awareness among people about the prohibition of child marriage.
The girls were rescued from Bhongir, Choutuppal, Ibrahimpatnam, Kushaiguda, LB Nagar, Malkajgiri and Vansathalipuram. All of these areas are very urban but some families still choose to marry off their daughters even before they reach the age of eighteen. In 2020, 22 child marriages were prevented while 11 child marriages were prevented this year so far.
Apart from this, SHE Teams caught 53 eve-teasers, including one minor boy for harassing women in the last nine weeks.
According to media reports, 71 cases have been booked, including 31 FIRs, in the past nine weeks. All detainees were counseled at the Police Commissioner’s Camp Office in LB Nagar.
Rachakonda Police has asked citizens to report child marriage at the Dial 100 facility or Rachakonda Police WhatsApp number – 9490617111.
