Bhawanipatna: Police, members of the district child welfare committee and the district child protection unit of Kalahandi stopped the marriage of a minor girl at a village here on Tuesday.

The mother of the girl played an important role in bringing the matter to light. The girl has been handed over to the child protection unit members, who might keep her for a few days for counselling.

A source said the marriage of the elder daughter of Sundarlal Naik of Kulerguda village in Ampani police limits was to be solemnised with the youngest son of Gokul Paujari of Badghumar village in Dharamgarh police limits on Tuesday. The girl was reportedly not happy with the proposal. She fled home without informing her family members on last Saturday. The family members searched but could not find her. They even lodged a missing complaint at Ampani police station. The groom's family was also informed about the matter. Both the families sat together to resolve the problem and decided to marry off the younger daughter of Naik to the groom.

The girl's mother was against the marriage as she was only 14 years old. However, she didn't get any support from her family. Both the families went ahead with the decision on the marriage.

Having no option left, the mother of the girl went to Ampani police station and lodged a complaint.

The police informed the matter to the district child protection unit and asked them to stop the marriage. Child welfare committee members Puspamitra Kanungo and Sampurna Nanda Mohanty and the child protection unit's Rajalaxmi Das and G.A. Kahn with the police officers reached Badghumar village and rescued the girl hours before the marriage. During the inquiry, they found that she was studying in Class VIII and her age was 14, while the groom was 26 years old.

Ampani police station inspector-in-charge Rajendra Mahapatra said the marriage was stopped because of the timely efforts of the girl's mother. "She came to the police station and lodged complaint against the marriage of her daughter," he said.