Abdul Lateef, a 54-year-old Keralite who has been living in Hyderabad, has been arrested by the Hyderabad police for allegedly marrying a 16-year-old girl. The cops suspect that the victim's parents consented to the marriage. So, they too have been arrested.

Acting on a tip-off, the cops had carried out several raids in the city to bust the case. They have so far arrested seven persons in total.

The incident highlights the fact that forced child marriages are still a dark reality of our society. Child brides have been rescued in dozens in the last two years just in Hyderabad.

In 2017, there were reports of a 77-year-old Omani national marrying a 16-year-old by paying Rs 5 lakh to the girl's father. As many as 20 people, including foreign nationals, were arrested based on the complaint by the victim's mother. In February 2019, a report quoted the police of Hyderabad as saying that 51 minor girls were rescued in 14 months. The offenders have been booked under the provisions of the Child Marriages Prohibition Act 2006.

Anti-human trafficking activists have been fighting the menace of child marriages.