Jind: Five suspected child marriage cases have come to light in Jind district in eigh days, with officials and child rights organisations preventing three weddings and investigating two others.In the latest case, a joint team of officials and two NGOs stopped a wedding at Chhatar village late Friday night after finding that the groom was 19, below the legal marriage age of 21. “The groom’s family delayed producing his documents for nearly two hours. When the birth certificate was finally provided, it revealed that he was only 19,” said Sunita, child marriage prohibition officer (CMPO), Jind, who coordinated the intervention.The team had received information that a wedding procession was travelling from Zafarpur village in Sonipat to Chhatar. After efforts to stop it at the source failed, officials rushed to the venue, where pre-wedding rituals were underway and around 100 guests had gathered.The bride’s birth certificate showed she was 18 years and five days old. Her family later alleged that the groom’s side had misled them about his age. Both families returned dowry articles, jewellery and other items, and the procession left without the bride.Earlier, on Oct 16, officials stopped the marriages of two cousins in Karsindhu village after finding that both brides and one groom were minors. On Oct 17, officials intervened in another case in Jind city after the wedding rituals had been completed. The bride was brought back to her family, while authorities continue to verify her age.In the fifth case, a man from Thua village allegedly married an underage girl from Gaunkhar village in Himachal Pradesh in Chandigarh on Oct 18. The administration has recorded statements and is examining school records and other documents to establish her age.
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