Teen forcibly married, kept captive since May by cousins

A 15-year-old girl was forcibly married three months ago and kept captive allegedly by her cousins in Uttar Pradesh's Bhadohi district, police said on Saturday.

The incident appear to be a fallout of a property dispute between the girl's father, who works in Mumbai, and cousin Ramesh Dubey, a resident of Suriyawa town. The dispute is pending in a court, police said.

In May, the girl had come to the district to visit the family when Dubey took her to a temple in Gopiganj area and forcibly married her off to Deepak Upadhaya (25), the brother-in-law of her son, Suriyawan police station incharge Vijay Pratap Singh said.

 

The teenager was kept captive in a house since May 27, from where she managed to escape on Friday. She reached her grandfather's house and narrated her ordeal, Singh said.

A case of forcible marriage, rape and kidnapping has been registered against four people. Upadhaya has been arrested late on Friday night, while a search is on for Dubey, his wife and daughter-in-law, the officer said.

The girl has been sent for medical examination, following which her statement will be recorded, Singh added.