A 46-year-old school teacher and father of two daughters was apprehended for allegedly ‘marrying’ his minor student, a 15-year-old girl, as reported by a police official on Friday.
K Somaraju, a Hindi teacher at Yandagani Zilla Parishad High School near Bhimavaram in West Godavari district, was arrested for enticing the girl under the pretense of love and ‘marrying’ her by tying a sacred thread around her neck, the police stated.
“Somaraju courted the minor girl for four months, provided her with his smartphone, and recently, he took her to his house, where they got ‘married’,” explained West Godavari District Disha (women’s protection wing) DSP N Murali Krishna.
After allegedly manipulating and marrying the girl on November 19, Somaraju forcibly kept her with him for a couple of days and consummated the ‘marriage’. The girl, however, managed to escape, returned home to Yandagandi village, and reported the incident to her family.
Accompanied by her father, the 10th-grade student filed a complaint against her Hindi teacher, leading to Somaraju’s arrest. He faces charges under IPC Sections 376, 342, and 506, along with Sections 5 & 6 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) and Section 9 of the Child Marriage Act. The DSP mentioned that Somaraju would be presented before a judge later on Friday.
Also read: Maharashtra: Over 15,000 child marriages in three years
