Police halt marriage of 2 minor girls in Kaliyaganj

In two separate incidents, police halted the marriage of two minor girls in North Dinajpur. The incidents occurred at Rail colony and Thela Patti area in Ward 15 of Kaliyaganj Municipality on Saturday night.

Ramnibas Saha, chairman of Kaliyaganj Municipality, also met the families and instructed the parents to postpone the marriages till the girls reach adulthood. It was reported that the marriage of the two minor girls was supposed to be held on Monday. One of the grooms is a resident of Kaliyaganj and other from Nadia district. Arrangement of the marriages was on the verge of completion on Saturday. However, the police visited the houses and stopped the marriages. Officials of the district child line were called in to hold counselling sessions of the parents. Ramnibas Saha said: “Having spoken to the parents, we came to know that they hailed from very poor families. Out of ignorance, they had agreed to the marriages. Both the girls were nearing 18 years of age. We convinced the families to let the girls reach adulthood. They agreed and postponed the marriages.”