Hyderabad: A 15-year-old girl from Mallapur was rescued from child marriage by a team of officials including Nacharam police on Friday. The girl was supposed to appear for exams on Friday which she had to miss because of her marriage ceremony. The 15-year-old girl from Nacharam in Hyderabad first tried to run away from home. She was stopped. Then somehow she managed to contact child rights activist Achyutha Rao and informed him of the situation she was in. Soon the police along Child welfare officials reached the spot and rescued the girl.
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"The marriage was supposed to be held at a committee hall in KL Reddy Nagar under Nacharam police limits. The bride was rescued and the parents were counseled," said a police officer. “It is unfortunate that her parents could not even wait for her exams to finish. This whole move can prove detrimental for her career as she would have to skip this year if education department doesn’t permit her to rewrite her exams,” noted Achyuta Rao of Balala Hakkula Sangham who partook in the rescue. The Class 10 girl can also be sent to a shelter home if she felt threatened, activists said.
According to initial inquiries, the rescued girl’s Aadhaar card shows her year of birth as 2000 making her 19 years of age. While her school records note her year of birth to be 2003, making her a 16-year-old. This is the 11th child marriage prevented by the NGO this year alone. On Thursday, a 14-year-old girl was rescued from child marriage at Kalapathar area.