Tribal trouble: 16-year-old Palghar girl abandoned by in-laws after torture

In Wada Palghar the case of a 16yearold girl from the Katkari tribe has revealed a disturbing child marriage and trafficking racket that preys on impoverished tribal families Married off at the age of 14 for Rs 50000 the girl was forcibly trafficked as a ldquowiferdquo and later kicked out by her husband and inlaws after giving birth to a daughterTwo people mdash her husband and a local accused of brokering the deal mdash were arrested by Wada police late on Friday October 3 evening following intervention by activists from Shramjeevi Sanghatana who ensured an FIR under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences POCSO Act and antitrafficking laws was registered against six individualsldquoWe have arrested Jeevan Balasaheb Gade and Ravi Krishna Kore and are continuing our investigation Since this is an old offence we will have to send a team to Nashik to conduct inquiries and gather additional evidencerdquo said Inspector Dattatray KendreMarried off at 14The minor born on October 10 2008 was married to Gade 27 in 2022 when she was 14 years old The marriage was facilitated by a broker Kore from her hometown in Parli Wada ldquoMy mother initially refused saying I was too youngrdquo the survivor recounted in her FIR statement registered on October 2 ldquoBut Kore threatened my mother saying her right over me was gone as she had remarried and the groomrsquos family threatened to ruin my reputation if the wedding didnrsquot happen immediatelyrdquoThe Wada police registered an FIR and are investigating the case PicBy Special ArrangementAfter the forced marriage the abuse began In 2023 the minor was forced into pregnancy Her husband allegedly forged her Aadhaar card changing her date of birth to October 20 2003 to conceal the child marriage During delivery the survivor was initially referred to Wada Government Hospital then to Thane but due to labour pain her mother took her to Jawhar Government Hospital where on October 3 2023 she delivered a baby girlConstant abuse gender biasAfter the birth of her daughter the abuse intensified The survivor said her husband demanded a son repeatedly assaulted her denied her food and forced her to work She added ldquoMy husband would constantly fight with me accusing me of having affairs He repeatedly taunted me saying lsquoI bought you for R50000 ask your parents to return the moneyrsquordquoHer inlaws Shobha Gade and Amol Gade also taunted and abused her Further the girlrsquos husband accused her of having an affair with her cousin Suraj Sunil Pawar who was staying nearby for construction work On September 27 2025 her husband forcibly sent the minor and her child back to her parentsrsquo home in Parli saying ldquoStay with them donrsquot returnrdquoActivists demand actionThe case came to light after Shramjeevi Sanghatana Maharashtra led by founder Vivek Bhau Pandit found the distraught minor outside Wada police station ldquoShe was sitting outside the police station and told us lsquoI was thrown out of my househellip they donrsquot provide me with food I want to file a case against themrsquordquo said Vijay Jadhav state secretary of Shramjeevi Sanghatana Activists escorted the minor to Wada Police Inspector Dattatray Kendre who escalated the matter to Superintendent of Police Yatish Deshmukh leading to immediate registration of the FIRThe larger issueldquoThis is not an isolated incident Two more girls from the same village were sold earlier Just today police in Sangamner intercepted another child marriage Poverty lack of education and hunger make these girls easy targets for such traffickingrdquo Jadhav said highlighting the wider problem He warned the district administration to hold groundlevel officials mdash gram sevaks police patils anganwadi and ASHA workers PESA mobilisers etc mdash accountable for failing to prevent breaches of the Child Marriage Prohibition Act 2006Charges and investigationBased on the minorrsquos testimony an FIR was registered against six people including her husband Jeevan Gade her inlaws Shobha Gade and Amol Gade broker Ravi Krishna Kore and two individuals who are yet to be identified The Wada police have registered offences under IPC Sections 3762N repeated rape 370 trafficking 468 forgery 498A cruelty 323 voluntarily causing hurt 504 intentional insult 506 criminal intimidation and 34 joint liability along with relevant sections of the SCST Atrocities Act 1989 amended 2015 the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 and the POCSO Act 2012Currently the case is being investigated by SubInspector Sumedh Medhe under the supervision of SubDivisional Police Officer Jawhar SS Maher and Inspector Dattatray Kendre Activists warn that a deeprooted network continues to exploit young tribal girls turning their poverty into illegal profit