A viral video showing a 14-year-old girl being forcibly taken by her husband has led to the arrest of multiple people involved in the incident. The disturbing footage, filmed in Karnataka’s Hosur, shows the girl screaming for help while a man drags her away, with others walking behind, making no effort to intervene.
How the Incident Took Place
The girl, from Thimmathur near Tamil Nadu’s Hosur, had been married off to a 29-year-old man, Madesh, on March 3 in Bengaluru. She had been studying until Class 7 but was pulled out of school and kept at home, a common practice in rural areas. Her protests against the forced marriage were ignored by her parents, and she was taken to her in-laws’ village in Kalikuttai after the wedding.
After returning to her village, the girl voiced her reluctance to move to her marital home and refused to comply. Despite her objections, her husband Madesh, and his older brother Mallesh forcibly abducted her and took her back to their village. The distressing incident was captured by bystanders and quickly spread on social media, triggering an investigation.
Multiple Arrests were Initiated by the Police
The grandmother of the girl approached the police, leading to the arrest of Madesh, Mallesh along with her mother Nagamma. The girl’s father along with Mallesh’s spouse also received police detainment. The police charged all defendants according to both the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Child Marriage Act. Each of these charges could lead to a maximum two-year imprisonment together with fines reaching Rs. 1 lakh.
The girl resides with her grandparents at the present time. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act exists in India making child marriages illegal by declaring all such unions officially void. Child marriage exists as a notable problem although the law declares them invalid. The state of Karnataka recorded 180 cases of child marriage during 2023-2024 resulting in 105 stopped marriages and legal consequences for 75 individuals involved.
