On being stopped by the cops, the families said that they had conducted only half of the pheras (Representative Image). | Photo Credit: Getty Images

Key Highlights Last week, the police in Bareilly stopped a child marriage which was being conducted The two families decided to marry the children after the minor girl's grandmother expressed her wish to see her married The families claimed that they had conducted half the 'pheras' and would complete the ceremony only after they children reached their legal age

Bareilly: A 12-year-old girl was allegedly being married off to a 10-year-old boy in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh. The incident took place last week at the Inayatpur village. The parents of the two minors claimed that they planned the marriage after the girl's ailing grandmother asked her last wishes to be fulfilled.

The marriage, however, could not be completed as the police intervened and stopped the two families. The families said that the children had only taken three-and-a-half pheras.

On being stopped by the cops, the families said that they had conducted only half of the pheras. According to the families, the remaining three-and-a-half pheras would be conducted after the girl turns 18-years-old and the boy turns 21-years-old.

Abhimanyu Manglik, ASP and in charge of the Faridpur police station told news agency IANS, "The families claimed that as the boy's grandmother is severely ill, they conducted a few rituals in accordance with her last wish. We have lodged an FIR against the parents of both, girl and boy. We are investigating the matter."

Neeta Ahirwar, the district probation officer said that they sent a team of Childline officials to the home of the two children to look into the matter. The officials of Childline will also counsel the family members of the minors. The two families have also been directed to appear before the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) on Monday with documents of the minors.

India's history with child marriage

This is not the first time where family pressure has pushed a minor to get married in India. In the past as well, there have several instances where minors have been asked to marry despite being underage. In some cases, the decision is taken in the name of societal pressure while in some cases it is prompted by financial crisis.

Child marriage was first criminalised in India in 1930, after the Child Marriage Restraint Act, also referred to as the Sarda Act came to into play. The Act stated that a man and woman can get married if they are 21-years-old and 18-years-old, respectively. In 2006, the name of the Act was altered to The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

