12-year-old in India who was forcefully married to 35-year-old rescued by police

• 12-year-old forcefully married to 35-year-old distant cousin.
• Girl files complain with help of other villagers.
• She's being transferred to Sakhi, women and child welfare home.

A 12-year-old girl in Telangana, India, who was being married to a 35-year-old man was rescued by police on Monday, Hindustan Times reported.

The minor was being married off by her parents. 

The incident took place in the girl's village of Velicharla, Kesampet block, which is approximately 50 km away from Hyderabad. 

“The girl, who doesn’t have any formal education, filed a complaint with us (the police) this morning with the help of local workers and other villagers," Keshampet sub-inspector of police Praveen Kumar said.

"She told us that her parents took her to the house of her cousin pretending to attend a family function, where she was forced to tie the knot with an older man,” he added.

He also reported that the girl did not seem psychologically stable as she had responded incoherently to different questions.

The parents denied the allegations and said that the groom had taken the girl and gotten married to her.

Kumar said that the police has filed a case under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and also Protection of Children from Sexual Offices (POCSO) Act against the 35-year-old. 

The 12-year-old was handed over to the Integrated Child Development Society (ICDS) authorities.

ICDS supervisor informed that during the girl's counselling sessions, she told the authorities that she was being forcefully married to her distant cousin.

The girl is now being transferred to Sakhi, a women and child welfare home.