A 15-year-old girl from South Dinajpur, who earned praise for foiling several child marriages, including her own, was assaulted by her friend and a youth for trying to stop their marriage.

Last year, the girl’s parents had arranged her marriage. She was a class VIII student at a school in the Balurghat block of the district at the time.

She voiced her protest and, with the help of the administration, managed to stop the marriage from happening.

Her endeavour drew praise from several quarters, and the administration declared her a role model of the Kanyashree scheme. A documentary on her was screened across the district to encourage minor girls to resist marriage. She was also taken to different areas to campaign against child marriage.

This year, the class IX student prevented 10 to 12 minor girls from being married off.

“She had also stopped the marriage of one of her friends, who discontinued her studies after the eighth standard. The friend was desperate to marry as she was in a relationship with the would-be groom,” said a police source.

A source said the irked friend, who is also 15 years old, and the 17-year-old youth, whom she wanted to marry, asked the girl to meet outside her school on Monday and started beating her.

“The duo hit her indiscriminately, and the girl suffered injuries to her head, chest, and back. Some locals intervened and took her to the Balurghat district hospital, where she is under treatment,” the source added.

On Tuesday, her family filed a complaint against them at the Balurghat police station. The duo has gone into hiding, a source said.

Senior officials of the administration have instructed the police to apprehend the attackers soon, sources said.

“We are with the girl. A complaint has been filed with the police, and we demand strict action against the pair. Unfortunately, she was attacked as she stopped a child marriage,” said Suraj Das, a member of the district child protection committee.

Teachers at her school also reacted to the issue. “She is an active member of our Kanyashree club and is very active in stopping child marriage. If she is assaulted for this, others will feel discouraged from following her. We hope the police will give due importance to the case,” said the headmaster of the school.

Bikram Prasad, the deputy superintendent of police (headquarters) of South Dinajpur, said they have registered a case. “Investigations have started,” he said.