In more trouble for Jharkhand BJP president Tala Marandi and his son Munna, Godda district administration Saturday instituted a civil suit against the father-son duo in connection with Munna’s wedding to allegedly an underaged girl.
The lawsuit accuses the girl’s father, too.
Following a local court’s direction, the police had on Friday registered an FIR against Munna after another girl had accused him of sexual abuse after promising to marry her.
Marandi, appointed the BJP’s state unit chief last month and the first Santhal to get the post, has rejected the allegations and blamed the opposition for fabricating a story about the girl being a minor.
According to an official communication issued by Godda district administration Saturday, the civil suit was instituted before a First Class Judicial Magistrate in Godda under Sections 9, 10 and 11 of Child Marriage Prevention Act against Munna, Tala Marandi and the minor’s father for the June 27 wedding.
The Sections under which they have been charged pertain to contacting a child for marriage and entails punitive action against parents/guardians involved in such child marriages.
The civil suit was instituted on the directions of Deputy Commissioner (Dumka), Rahul Kumar Sinha, who holds charge of Godda district as well. Sinha directed Vijay Prakash Marandi, the Block Development Officer and Child Marriage Prevention Officer of Boarijore Block, to conduct preliminary inquiry into allegations that the girl Munna had married last week is a minor.
Citing media reports and statements of some witnesses, including a panchayat functionary, and the documents submitted by her school, the inquiry says prima facie it appears the girl was born on July 25, 2005, making her less than 11 years old.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das, who was scheduled to attend the wedding reception, had skipped the event during his two-day visit to Santhal Paragana region. The CM’s office maintained that Das had to cancel his appearance since he had to attend several programmes.
Earlier, another girl had moved a local court, accusing Munna of sexually abusing her and going back on his promise to marry her. The court had directed the police to register an FIR. The complainant has also appeared before the State Commission for Women.