Jagatsinghpur: Police and the child protection unit have stopped a child marriage at Hanshina village of Mangarajpur gram panchayat of the district in the face of stiff resistance from local people.

"As it was a case of child marriage and illegal, the wedding was stopped before being solemnised. But, the police found it tough as the people reacted at our intervention. Both the groom and the bride had not attained marriageable age of 21 and 18 years, respectively. So, the marriage contravened the legal provisions," said Kujang police station inspector Dillip Kumar Sahu.

There was show of resistance from the local people, including parents of both the groom and the bride, as they were not aware of legal provisions which bar marriage of minors. They insisted on solemnising the marriage. They stuck to the point that marriage is a social function, and the police had no role to play in stopping it.

"Despite ample provocation, the police acted with restraint. Later, the unwilling parents relented and stopped the marriage. Both the parents agreed to wait till the girl attained the marriageable age," said the district child protection unit's officer Udaynath Swain. "According to law, marriage of a boy less than 21 years of age and girl below 18 is a crime under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, that attracts two years rigorous imprisonment or Rs 1 lakh fine or both. However, we decided not to take recourse to coercive action as they were unaware of legal provisions," said the police officer.

The unlawful practice of child marriage is still prevalent in specific pockets of Jagatsinghpur district.

Poverty, coupled with ignorance of illiterate parents, has contributed for prevalence of this illegal practice. Ironically, the majority of parents are unaware of legal provisions of child marriage restraint act, said Swain.