Four fined for arranging child marriage

A marriage registrar, the groom and guardians of both the bride and the groom were fined yesterday during the marriage ceremony of a 13-year-old girl in Nabinagar of Brahmanbaria yesterday.

They were detained on Wednesday.

The marriage registrar Mosarraf Hossain was fined Tk 10,000 and the groom Sadikur Rahman, 30, Tk 30,000. The groom's elder brother Kamruzzaman Babul, who acted as his guardian, was fined Tk 10,000 and the bride's father Ali Azam Tk 30,000.

The girl is a student of class-VIII in Nabinagar Ichhyamoyee Pilot Girls High School.

Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) Raju Ahmed of Nabinagar Police Station said police following a tip from classmates of the girl and members of Swarno Kishoree Network Foundation raided the area.

The police team, led by Nabinagar Assistant Commissioner (land) JP Dewan, stopped the wedding and took the marriage registrar, the bride and the groom into their custody.

They were produced before a mobile court, led by JP Dewan, yesterday where the fines were handed down.

JP Dewan said both guardians made a promise in writing to not break the law.