Child marriage rampant in Mandya

June 11, 2012

child_marriage


Mandya, Jun 11: Prevalence of child marriage in the district despite the formulation of numerous stringent laws and social schemes for women empowerment has become a cause of concern.

According to the Women and Child Development Department, 62 cases of child marriages were reported between April 2011 and April 2012.

The Department officials in association with Birds, a non-governmental organisation, rescued child brides in 60 cases.

Mandya tops the taluks where 25 child marriages were reported, followed by Srirangapatna with 12 cases; eight in Malavalli, five in Nagamangala, four each in Pandavapur and Maddur, and two cases in Krishnarajpet.

In KR Pet and Panadavpur taluks, two cases were booked against the parents for continuing with the wedding plans even after they were warned of the legal consequences by the officials.

Such offenders would be ripped of all the benefits given by the government, and if arrested, they would be sentenced to two-year rigourous imprisonment and fine up to Rs one lakh.

Four cases were reported between April 2010 and April 2011. However, there could be more instances of child marriages held surreptitiously. For, the Child and Women Development Department has not registered any cases of child marriages since 2006, but for the above mentioned 60 cases in the past two years.

According to Venkatesh, a member of the Birds, on an average, 15 child marriages are held every month in the district.

As many as 20 child marriages were prevented in May this year alone, he said. Ironically, the number of early marriages has increased since the year-long campaign against the child marriage was launched in November 2011.

The number of child marriages have increased in Mandya, Nagamangala, Malavalli and Srirangapatnam, he added. Most of the marriages involve minor girls from economically and socially backward families in rural areas.

Apart from the poverty, the parents’ fear of girl’s sexuality and the anxiety that the daughters may fall in love if they go to colleges, drive them to marry off the children at young age, Venkatesh said.

In several instances, the officials and the volunteers received threats from the influential persons and supporters of the local leaders when they went to rescue the child brides.

The awareness programmes taken up to sensitise the public on illegal practice of child marriage and its adverse impact on children, family and society, have not yielded desired effect.

The law on prohibition of child marriages and women empowerment programmes by the government have also failed to dissuade people from the evil practice, Venkatesh said.



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Agencies
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Nagpur, Apr 5: A 23-year-old man allegedly committed suicide in Imambada area in Nagpur on Saturday due to financial distress, police said.

Nikhil Gavhane, who worked in a grocery shop, hanged himself as he had taken money from a person and was stressed over repayment, an official said.

"He was depressed since a week," the Imambada police station official said.

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News Network
January 2,2020

New Delhi, Jan 2: A 20-year-old man set his motorcycle on fire after he was challaned by the traffic police in south Delhi's Greater Kailash area on Wednesday, police said.

Vikas, a resident of Sangam Vihar, was challaned by the traffic police for riding the motorcycle without helmet, a senior police official said.

The traffic police challaned him and impounded the motorcycle, following which Vikas set the bike on fire, the officer said.

A case has been registered and the accused arrested, the officer added.

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News Network
February 10,2020

Mumbai, Feb 10: Ankita Pisudde, a resident of Hinganghat town in Wardha, was critical after sustaining 40% burns on February 3 when she was set afire, allegedly by one Vikesh Nagrale (27) while she was on her way to college.

The 25-year-old woman lecturer who was set on fire by a stalker in Maharashtra’s Wardha district last week died at a hospital in Nagpur on Monday morning, a police official said.

Ankita Pisudde, resident of Hinganghat town in Wardha, had been critical after sustaining 35 to 40% “grade III” burns on February 3 when she was set afire allegedly by one Vikesh Nagrale (27) while she was on way to her college, they said.

She was undergoing treatment at the Orange City Hospital & Research Centre here, located around 75 km from Wardha.

“Doctors at the hospital declared her dead at 6.55 a.m. today,” Hinganghat’s police inspector Satyaveer Bandiwar said.

The woman sustained deep burn injuries on scalp, face, right upper limb, left hand, upper back, neck and eyes along with severe inhalational injuries, the hospital said in a medical bulletin on Monday.

She died of “septicemic shock” after suffering from deep dermal burns along with severe inhalational injuries, respiratory distress and related complications, it said.

Around 4 a.m. on Monday, her oxygen levels deteriorated inspite of ventilator support, coupled with decreasing urine output and reduction in blood pressure, the hospital said.

As part of immediate resuscitation measures, medicines were escalated to maintain the blood pressure and all feasible steps were taken to improve the oxygen levels in blood, but the patient remained “extremely critical”, it said.

“Around 6.30 a.m., she had bradycardia and inspite of prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation, the patient could not be revived and was declared dead at 6.55 a.m.,” it said.

The probable cause of death was “septicemic shock”, the bulletin added.

During her treatment, she underwent tracheostomy (creating an opening in neck to place a tube into the windpipe to allow air to enter the lungs), burn dressings, debridement and escharotomies, the hospital informed.

Debridement is a medical procedure to remove dead, damaged or infected tissue, while escharotomy is a surgical procedure used to treat full-thickness (third-degree) circumferential burns.

The woman’s parents and uncle were kept informed about her deteriorating health condition and death, the hospital said, adding that the body was later handed over to police for postmortem and other formalities.

After the woman’s condition deteriorated, the hospital informed about her critical status to Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh, Wardha Guardian Minister Sunil Kedar, Nagpur Divisional Commissioner Sanjeev Kumar, Police Commissioner Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, Wardha Collector Vivek Bhimanwar and Wardha Superintendent of Police Basavraj Teli.

Heavy security was deployed in Hinganghat to avoid any law and order problem following her death, the police said.

Several locals, mostly women and college students, took out a march in Wardha city last Thursday, demanding death penalty for the accused.

Home Minister Deshmukh visited the hospital on Tuesday and announced that the accused’s trial would be fast-tracked.

The State government last week flew Navi Mumbai-based National Burns Centre director Sunil Keswani to Nagpur to supervise the woman’s treatment.

It has also appointed well-known lawyer Ujjwal Nikam as special public prosecutor in the case.

According to the victim’s relatives, Nagrale, who was arrested within hours of the incident on February 3, had been harassing her for quite some time.

Nagrale and the woman were friends till two years ago when she severed ties with him due to his “irrational behaviour”, the police earlier said.

A special team led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Trupti Jadhav will probe the case, the Wardha Police said last week.

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