Kolkata Police arrested three people — a minor girl's father, her alleged husband, and her mother-in-law — on Sunday, 31 August, after uncovering a child marriage case in the Haridevpur area of the city. A case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, has been registered in connection with the alleged marriage, kidnapping, and sexual assault of the minor.

How the Case Came to Light

The case surfaced through an unlikely route: a state government welfare scheme. The minor's family had continued drawing financial assistance under the Kanyaratna Education Grant Scheme — a programme designed to support the education of unmarried girls and discourage child marriage — even after the girl had allegedly been married off. The money was reportedly being credited directly to the minor's bank account.

The girl, a resident of the Nodakhali area in South 24 Parganas district, had reportedly met a young man from Haridevpur and left her parental home with him approximately one-and-a-half months before her rescue. The man allegedly married her and brought her to his home, where his mother, according to police, was aware that the girl was under 18 but nonetheless accepted her as a daughter-in-law.

Father's Role: Complicity Over Protection

What makes this case particularly troubling is the alleged conduct of the girl's own father. According to police, he did not file a missing persons or kidnapping complaint when his daughter left home — a legal obligation under the circumstances. He allegedly contacted the in-laws and communicated that he had no objection to his daughter living with them, provided the family continued to receive the monthly government benefit.

When the minor was required to return home for a mandatory verification to continue receiving the scheme's assistance, she reportedly refused — allegedly citing a desire to stay at her in-laws' house — despite what police describe as threats from her father over the phone.

The father subsequently approached an NGO and disclosed the marriage — not, police allege, out of concern for his daughter, but because the financial assistance was at risk. The NGO then alerted Haridevpur police station, whose officers conducted a rescue operation at the in-laws' residence.

Arrests and Charges

Officers from Haridevpur police station arrested the girl's husband and mother-in-law and registered the POCSO case against them in connection with the alleged offences. The father was subsequently arrested as well, after investigators determined he had withheld knowledge of the marriage from authorities for nearly one-and-a-half months and had allegedly facilitated the arrangement for financial gain. He has been named as an accused in the same case.

All three were arrested on Sunday, officials confirmed on Monday.

Minor's Status and Welfare

The minor has been rescued and placed in a safe facility, police said. This case is notable as an instance where a child welfare scheme — intended to protect girls from early marriage — inadvertently exposed one. The Kanyaratna scheme's verification mechanism, which required the girl's physical return for benefit continuation, ultimately triggered the chain of events that led to her rescue.

Notably, this is not an isolated pattern: across several Indian states, child marriages have been concealed to continue drawing welfare benefits meant for unmarried girls, raising questions about the adequacy of ground-level verification in such schemes. Authorities are expected to examine whether additional scrutiny is needed in the disbursement process going forward.