Minor girl herself prevents marriage by approaching childline authority

By Our Correspondent

Agartala, January 17, 2026

Marriage of minor or under-aged girls is rampant in most part of the state’s rural and hilly areas-mostly due to poverty and in some cases as a practice of harmful social customs. Even though police authority, goaded by childline authority, often take action in such matters to prevent minor marriage , this harmful practice continue in different parts of the state beyond their knowledge. But there are also rare instances where the minor girls themselves stand up against this obnoxious practice because they prefer to continue their studies.

Such a thing has come to the notice of late in Belonia subdivision of south Tripura-actually in Siddhinagar area under PR Bari police station of Rajnagar assembly constituency. Sources from Belonia said that the parents of tribal minor girl Neerlata Tripura (15), a student of class IX only in Baganbari high school, was about to be married away by her parents to a tribal youth who had fallen for her at the first sight. According to the version given by Neerlata , the youth had come to her paternal house on January 11 with her own married elder sister and brother in law and showed eagerness to marry her . Her father Suresh Tripura and mother Sunati Tripura also agreed to the marriage proposal under pressure from their son in law and elder daughter ,despite Neerlata’s opposition .

Having no other alternative Neerlata confided this to her school teacher Munmun Baidya who took an immediate initiative to save her minor student from the bane of minor marriage by seeking help from Rupak Mazumder , chairman of the Belonia child welfare committee. He picked up Neerlata from her house and ensured her protection by handing her over to childline authority. Neelata told the childline authority that she was keen to pursue her studies so that she could filfill her ambition of becoming a police officer. Rupak Majumder promised to help minor Neerlata in every possible way in continuing her studies . When confronted by the childline authority , Suresh Tripura, farther of Neerlata , confessed that he indeed had committed a wrong by deciding to marry off his minor daughter and now he would do his duty by helping Neerlata to continue and finish her studies.

According to Rupak Majumder, chairman of the Belonia child welfare committee, this is the second such instance in Belonia where the would-be-married minor girl stood up in protest against marriage at minor age. In the year 2022 Jyotsna Akhtar , a minor student of Amzad Nagar area in the bordering area of Belonia and a student of class IX, had protested her parents decision to marry her off . She had also been saved by the childline authority and she is still continuing her studies.

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