Dhenkanal: Police and Child Welfare Committee (CWC) officials rescued two girls who had defied conventions and got secretly married at a temple in Talcher, a report said Thursday.
The matter came out after the police rescued the two girls from the NTPC area in Talcher and lodged them at the Maharshi Dayananda Service Swadhar Shelter in Dhenkanal.
CWC officials counselled the two girls on July 8, 9 and 10 and handed them over to their families.
The incident comes at a time when the Supreme Court is hearing the issue of decriminalising homosexuality by scrapping Section-377.
The two girls, Krushna, (20), and Kaveri, (17), (names changed), both from the Dalit community and hailing from Balaramprasad village had eloped from their houses June 30, and tied the knot at a temple in Talcher. Kaveri was seen wearing vermillion and bangles at the time of her rescue.
The two were in a relationship since long had decided to stay together, but police traced them to the NTPC area of Talcher and rescued them July 3.
Police said the girls developed a relationship while studying in high school. Krushna has studied up to Class IX and Kaveri Class X.
They wanted to formalise their relationship and got married. They admitted their relationship during police interrogation and expressed their desire to stay with each other.
A probe by the Maharshi Dayananda Service Swadhar shelter confirmed Kaveri was a minor and Krushna was 20.
When contacted Pratap Acharya confirmed the development stating the two have been handed over to their families.
PNN