Andhra Pradesh State Commission for the Protection of Child Rights Chairman Kesali Apparao on Tuesday asked the Police Department to book cases immediately against those performing and encouraging child marriages. While holding a review meeting in the Vizianagaram Collector’s office, he urged people to lodge complaints immediately by dialing 1098 so that the government would take action on the issue.
He warned that action would also be taken against proprietors of function halls, priests and others if child marriages were performed in the district. District Women and Child Welfare Officer B. Shanta Kumari said that 275 child marriages were taken place in the district since 2021. She said that special teams were formed to gather information from all areas to prevent child marriages.
