2 held as minor beaten by husband lands in hospital

Salem police arrested a woman and her son-in-law under the Child Marriages Restraint Act on Sunday, for allegedly forcing a 12-year-old into marriage...

Salem police arrested a woman and her son-in-law under the Child Marriages Restraint Act on Sunday, for allegedly forcing a 12-year-old into marriage and subjecting her to physical torture and harassment. The minor (name withheld) has been admitted to the Salem Medical College Hospital and is said to be in a state of shock and being treated for the injuries inflicted on her by her husband, Suresh.

The plight of the girl, hailing from Seendamangalam village in Omalur near Salem, came to the notice of an NGO which brought the issue to the Omalur Women’s Police Station. A complaint was lodged against the girl’s mother, Kaliammal, and her husband, 25-year-old Suresh. The minor has been admitted to hospital.

Both Kaliammal and Suresh have been arrested under Sections 4 and 6 of the Child Marriages Restraint Act, and under IPC Sections 498(A) (Husband or relative of Husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt).

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The minor had only now completed her eighth standard but was married off soon after she attained puberty, to her uncle, a worker in the silk handloom cooperative.

According to the police, the wedding, conducted in the presence of elders of both sides, was apparently prompted by the economic situation of the girl, who lost her father.

Before the marriage was solemnized, the girl was told she could continue her school studies. However, later, her husband, Suresh, did not allow her to go to school and “began to harass and torture her.”