UP: 15-year-old rape survivor forced to marry, parents among 9 booked | Bareilly News
PILIBHIT: A case has been registered against nine individuals of a village in Pilibhit district, including three women, for allegedly forcing a 15-year-old girl to marry a 22-year-old man. The girl has a two-year-old daughter, conceived after she was raped by her relative when she was 12.A rape case was registered against the girl’s relative on May 3, 2022 when she was eight months pregnant. He was subsequently arrested and convicted on Aug 18 this year, with a court sentencing him to 20 years in jail. However, while the trial was underway, her parents “arranged” her marriage with another man from a nearby village and their wedding was held on July 7. Neighbours said the man had “accepted” his bride’s child from the earlier rape. Things took a turn when the issue of the minor’s wedding was brought before district probation officer Anurag Shyam Rastogi, who then alerted police on Oct 9 with directions to obtain a written complaint and to lodge an FIR. He cited the girl’s school transfer certificate to confirm that she was a minor. “Police subsequently filed the FIR on Monday evening against nine people including the parents of both the bride and the groom under relevant sections of Prohibition of Child Marriage Act,” a police officer said.(The victim’s identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme Court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
