Teen alleges forced marriage, sexual assault and abortion in Palghar; 6 booked

Palghar: A 14-year-old girl from Maharashtra's Palghar district has alleged that she was forcibly married to a man, sexually assaulted and made to undergo an abortion, police said on Tuesday.

Based on her complaint, a case has been registered against the man and five other persons from Jalgaon district, they said.

One of the accused, along with another person, came to the victim's house in Jawhar taluka earlier this year and sought her alliance with the man, an official from Jawhar police station said quoting the complaint.

The man married the girl on April 10 this year, paid Rs 85,000 to her parents and took her to Pachora in Jalgaon district, he said.

The victim alleged that the man repeatedly raped her following which she became pregnant. Later, the man's mother gave her some pills after which her pregnancy was terminated, the official said.

The man and his family also allegedly snatched away her jewellery and other valuables and she later returned to her parents' house in Jawhar.

The girl recently contacted the Shramajeevi Sanghatana, a tribal welfare organisation, which helped her lodge the police complaint.

Based on the complaint, a case was registered on Monday night against the man, his parents and three other persons under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, the official said.

"A probe into the crime is underway and no one has been arrested as yet," the official added.