A 17-year-old girl ran away from home after her marriage was fixed by her parents forcefully. The police traced the teenage girl within seven hours of the incident, and have warned the parents against violating the law. The legal age for marriage for women in India is presently 18. The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021, that was introduced in the Lok Sabha this week, has proposed increasing the age to 21.

The teenager, whose identity has not been revealed, is a resident of Kandivli East. She went missing on Friday, after which a complaint was registered at the Samta Nagar police station. According to the police, the girl had been suffering from depression ever since she learnt about the decision. On Friday, around 3 pm, she left home on the pretext of going for her classes. When she didn’t return until 5 pm, her parents enquired with the classes, only to learn that she had left early. Her parents then filed a complaint with the police.