Child marriage with Indian national foiled in Sitakunda, bride’s mother fined
Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Abdullah Al Mamun also imposed a Tk40,000 fine on the bride’s mother for arranging the marriage of an underage girl
An attempted child marriage between an Indian national and a Bangladeshi minor girl was thwarted by local authorities in Sitakunda upazila of Chattogram on Tuesday (22 April) night.
Executive Magistrate and Assistant Commissioner (Land) Abdullah Al Mamun told TBS that, acting on local reports of a potential child marriage involving a foreign national, he intervened and halted the ceremony after confirming the details.
He also imposed a Tk40,000 fine on the bride's mother for arranging the marriage of an underage girl.
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The incident took place around 9:30pm at the residence of Arun Babu in Madhya Bashbaria under Bashbaria Union, where a festive wedding ceremony was underway.
The bride is only 14 years and 11 months old. Her father, Lokhon Nath, had arranged her marriage to Sushanta Nath, a young man from Shantinagar in Kolkata's Nadia district.
Guests had gathered, traditional music was playing, and the couple was being prepared for the wedding rituals when law enforcement, led by the magistrate, arrived at the scene.
The sudden intervention caused panic among the attendees, with many fleeing the venue.
After verifying documents and confirming the girl's age, the magistrate halted the ceremony and penalised the bride's mother, Dipali Bala Nath.
The magistrate said the parents were also verbally instructed not to proceed with the marriage until the girl reaches the legal age, as stipulated by Bangladeshi law. The authorities also stressed the need for increased community awareness to prevent child marriages and protect the rights of children.
