Chennai: The Chidambaram police arrested a 17-year-old boy after a viral video showed him tying nuptial thread to a minor girl at a bus stop in Cuddalore on Tuesday.
According to a report on Times of India, the minor boy was a student of a polytechnic institute in Cuddalore.
Recently, the issue came to light when a video went viral on social media showing the boy tying the mangalsutra to the girl in uniform at the bus stop.
The Keerapalayam police then traced the boy and girl and picked them up for inquiry.
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During interrogation, their parents revealed that both families agreed to the wedding and decided to arrange a wedding after four years.
However, the minor children took to marrying on the road.
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Based on the complaint from the girl's parents, the police registered a case the minor boy and booked him under the sections of Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006
The police then arrested him.
They also arrested a 51-year-old man for recording a video of the child marriage and uploading them on social media platforms. The arrested has been identified as P Balaji Ganesh from Chidambaram. The police also booked him under Juvenile Justice Act, Prevention of Women Harassment Act and SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act since the boy reportedly abused the parents of the girl when she questioned him for posting the video.
Child marriage in Tamil Nadu began to increase during the first wave of novel coronavirus. During the first wave, Tamil Nadu government stopped 511 child marriages, according to a survey by Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan. Most of the child marriages were reported in Krishnagiri, Kallakurichi, Tiruvannamalai, Virudhunagar and Villupuram.