Belthangady : An attempt to get a minor girl married off to a close relative at a private wedding hall at Dharmasthala was foiled by the police department on July 1, Monday.

The wedding of a 17 year old girl from Nuggehalli in Chennarayapatna of Hassan district was planned with Ranga Shetty (26) of Doddamathighatta of the same district at a hall at Dharmasthala. It was an arranged marriage. Though police and child welfare officials had information regarding the marriage, they were unaware as to where the wedding party had stayed. Finally, the police wasted no time and arrived at the wedding hall early in the morning and took the relatives present there to task. They also warned that they will have to face criminal proceedings if they went ahead with the marriage. The families finally agreed to cancel the wedding. They were later taken to the court to sign an affidavit.