The Karnataka Police arrested a person for allegedly marrying a minor girl and impregnating her. The issue came to light after the minor girl was admitted to a hospital for delivery.
The accused is a grama panchayat president in Belagavi district and had purportedly married the girl in 2023, when she was 15 years old.
After news about the minor girl spread, the district child protection unit filed a complaint with the Belagavi women’s police station. Thereafter, the police registered a case under sections of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, Protection of Children From Sexual Offences Act, and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
This is the second incident within a week wherein a minor girl has delivered a baby in the state. A minor girl studying in Class 9 in Shivamogga district delivered a premature baby at her residence on Friday. Her parents were not aware that she was seven months pregnant.
Recently, responding to a query raised by MLC Dhananjaya Sarji, the government informed the House that 80,813 teenage pregnancies were reported in the state in the last three years. Bengaluru urban district reported 8,891 such cases, followed by Vijayapura with 7,143 cases.
Of the 80,813 teenage girls who became pregnant, 3,459 were between 14 and 17 years old.