Police Rescue Minor Girl in Kolkata, File POCA Case Against Family

A minor girl from South 24‑Parganas was rescued by Kolkata police after an NGO tipped off authorities about her illegal marriage. The Haridevpur police station launched an operation that led to the arrest of her husband, his mother and her own father.

The minor’s father had been benefitting from West Bengal’s Kanyaratna education grant, which provides financial aid to unmarried school‑going girls. He concealed the marriage to ensure the monthly payments continued, depositing the money directly into his daughter's bank account.

When the grant’s verification process required the girl to return home, she refused, preferring to stay with her husband. The father then approached an NGO, inadvertently exposing the unlawful union. Police intervened, rescued the girl, and lodged a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, accusing the husband and mother‑in‑law of child marriage, abduction and sexual exploitation.

The father has also been charged for failing to report his daughter's disappearance and for alleged fraud linked to the scholarship scheme.