Tandur’s Gujarat Connection: 15-Year-Old Girl Forced To Marry Older Man From Jamnagar

Hyderabad: Even as the state is debating the issue of minor girls marrying elderly and in some cases, ailing Arabs, here's another shocker. Minors from the Tandur area in Vikarabad district are being given in marriage to Gujaratis. Several such incidents have come to light. In most cases, the suitors are from the Jamnagar region of Gujarat.

In the most recent incident, three persons were arrested for forcibly marrying off a 15-year-old girl to a 30-year-old person from Jamnagar. The girl was rescued by the officials of the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS). According to the police, the girl, who studied up to Class VI in Sedam town in Karnataka, was living in Tandur. Her father is working in a stone polishing unit in the town. The girl's elder sister too was married to one Jitender from Jamnagar. Her father and other relatives had decided to marry off the girl to another Gurajati identified as Manish.

The marriage was to take place on October 15, but the girl, who realised that the man was a 30-year-old, raised an alarm. On being informed the ICDS officials foiled the wedding plans. The police arrested girl's father Sai Reddy, middleman Jitender and one Dileep. The ICDS officials have been given the custody of the girl.