A high school teacher was arrested on Monday night for allegedly marrying a 17-year-old girl in Murshidabad.

Police from Sagarpara also arrested the fathers of the teacher and the girl. The law enforcers rescued the Class XI student from Domkal and sent her to the state’s Child Welfare Committee for counselling.

The arrested teacher, Sahabul Islam, 34, is from Khairamari. He is a permanent teacher at Paharpur High School in Bihar’s Katihar, where he has been working since September.

An NGO worker filed a complaint at the Sagarpara police station, following which
the arrests were made. On Tuesday, the trio were produced in the Behrampore chief judicial magistrate’s court.

Local sources said the allegedly illegal marriage had taken place a month ago. After participating in all related rituals and ceremonies, the teacher returned to his place of employment in Bihar, while the girl was sent to live at her paternal residence in Domkal.

On Monday, the teacher went to Domkal and brought the girl back with him to Khairamari. He was arrested not long after.

The complainant said the marriage and all that followed had been carried out with utmost secrecy. “We investigated and confirmed the tip-off, and only after a thorough check did we file a complaint. What could be more unfortunate than a teacher getting married to a child?” asked the complainant.

“As socially conscious people, teachers usually prevent child marriages. That is what should happen. But a high school teacher himself married a child in this case,” added the complainant.

Domkal subdivisional police officer Shubham Bajaj said: “Based on a written complaint from an NGO worker, the accused teacher, his father and the girl’s father were arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.”