Married off at 6, teen moves court to annul marriage
Jodhpur, June 7: Married off at the tender age of 6, Pintudevi suffered for 12 years before finally moving court to dissolve the child marriage.
The daughter of daily wager Sohanlal Bishnoi of Pithawas village here, she was married to a youth from Saran Nagar.
After filing an appeal to annul the child marriage in the family court here on Wednesday, Pintudevi, now 18, told IANS: "I was married off when I was just 6. Since my in-laws were involved in criminal activities, I was scared. There are other reasons also why I do not want to go to my in-laws' place."
Pintudevi's in-laws threatened her and her family with social boycott if she went against the marriage.
With the help of Kriti Bharti, a rehabilitation psychologist and Managing Trustee of Saarthi Trust, Pintudevi finally moved court.
Judge P.K. Jain of the Family Court-1 registered the petition and issued notice to her husband and asked him to be present during the next hearing on June 22.
Bharti, who has been running a child marriage annulment campaign, said after the marriage is annulled, action would be taken against the families.
"Besides, efforts are being made for better rehabilitation of Pintudevi who will be appearing for her Class 10 exams this year. She dropped out of school after completing class 9 education. We are making arrangements to ensure she studies and gets empowered," she said.
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Fire breaks out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi, around 50 shops gutted
New Delhi (PTI): A major fire broke out at Nature Bazaar in south Delhi's Andheria Mor area on Sunday morning, gutting around 50 shops and triggering a massive firefighting operation, an official of the Delhi Fire Services (DFS) said.
According to the DFS, a call regarding the blaze was received at 7.37 am, following which 10 fire tenders were rushed to the spot to control the flames. No injury to anyone has been reported so far.
The fire erupted at the Nature Bazaar market located near Andheria Mor in the Lado Sarai area, where several temporary and semi-permanent shops selling handicrafts and other items are set up, he said.
Thick plumes of smoke were seen billowing from the market complex as the fire rapidly spread through multiple shops in the crowded marketplace.
Firefighters launched an extensive operation to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading further.
Around 50 shops were gutted in the incident, causing heavy damage to goods and structures, the officer said.
Fire personnel were continuing efforts to completely douse the flames and carry out cooling operations in the area. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.
Police officers also reached the spot to assist in crowd management and facilitate firefighting operations.
