Mangalore :  Help came in the way of a 17 year girl who was scheduled to get married at a temple at Ullal in Mangalore on May 13, Sunday in the form of officials of the Department of Women and Child Development, who rushed to the marriage venue and stalled the marriage. The girl was later taken   to the Eshwarananda Seva Ashram at Kankanady after her parents refused to take her home.

The girl’s marriage had  been fixed with Suresh Lal, a mechanic from  Calicut and was to take place at the Veerabhadra Temple at Ullal on Sunday. However the officials were tipped off that a minor was being married and they arrived at the temple. Though the parents of the girl argued that she was 18, a scrutiny of the documents revealed that she was 17. The girl is a first PUC student at the Government Women’s College, Balmatta in Mangalore.

CWC Chairman Asha Nayak has said the girl would be taken care of the CWC and she would be allowed to continue her studies. On enquiry, it also revealed that the girl too was not interested in marrying and that her parents had force her to get married.