Panchayat Forces Man To Marry Off 5-Year-Old Daughter For Killing Calf

Bhopal: In a bizarre incident, a man was asked to marry off his five-year-old daughter as a redemption for his 'sin' for killing a calf. The incident took place in a village in Guna district of Madhya Pradesh and the decision was taken by the community panchayat. However, the incident came to light when the girl's mother approached the district administration for help on Friday. She said the panchayat fixed her daughter's marriage with an eight-year-old boy from Vidisha district.

"Girl's mother approached us, requesting to stop the marriage. We have sent our teams to the village to look into the matter," said Niaz Khan, additional district magistrate.

The complainant said that some four months ago, her husband hit a calf with a stone to shoo it away from their field, but the animal later died. The woman said that the panchayat asked them to go on pilgrimage and organize a feast for the entire village later. The family agreed, but the boycott for them didn't end even then.

Girl’s mother approached us, requesting to stop the marriage. We have sent our teams to the village to look into the matter

The panchayat further said there were several marriageable youths in the village, but marriages were not being solemnised because of calf's death. The panchayat therefore told the family to marry off their daughter as per local custom. The panchayat fixed the girl's marriage with an eight-year-old boy.

The administration asked four persons including fathers of the girl and the `groom' to execute bonds of Rs 20,000 each under the Criminal Procedure Code. If the bond is violated, police can take action in anticipation of "breach of peace" against the person.