November 24, 2022
A 14-year-old boy in India's Pune proposed to a 13-year-old schoolmate publicly on social media after which he got arrested by the police, reported local Indian media.
Hadapsar police reported that the boy, who is a student in eighth grade, clicked pictures of the girl and collected them to make a video for social media. He posted the compilation on social media and asked the girl to marry him.
The teenager also threatened the girl that she would face "dire consequences" if she refused to befriend him, the authorities told the media.
When the girl found out about the video, she informed her parents after which they filed a complaint at the local police station. The parents got concerned about the minor asking the girl to be his wife and posting her pictures without consent.
The senior police inspector at Hadapsar police station Arvind Gokule said that the school that the teenagers belonged to were conducting examinations. Gokule said that the boy's parents had been informed and action would be taken once the exams are over.
"We have issued a notice to the boy’s parents and have asked them to come to the station after the exams," he was quoted as saying by Hindustan Times.
"Then we will produce them in front of the child welfare committee and they will take necessary actions," the official added.
The incident occurred on November 17. The parents registered the complaint on November 21.
This is not the first time that a boy in India has threatened a girl while proposing to her. There have been numerous cases where girls have been murdered or seriously harmed by young men for refusing to marry them.
Not long ago, a Jharkhand woman was set on fire by a man who she refused to befriend. The young man who burnt the 19-year-old woman to death was seen smiling after being arrested by the police.
The woman, who was a college student, initially survived with 90% of her body burnt but eventually succumbed to her wounds.
According to a statement the victim gave to an executive magistrate with extreme difficulty, he called her over a week ago asking her to become his friend. When she refused, he threatened to kill her.