‘Forced marriage between 85-year-old and 12-year-old in Jamalpur’: HC orders probe

The High Court today directed the authorities concerned of the government to conduct an inquiry into the reported incident of a forced marriage between an 85-year-old man and a 12-year-old girl in Jamalpur, and to submit the probe report to the court on November 29.

According to a report published by the Bangla daily Samakal on November 21, local influential men of Bairapara village under Dewanganj upazila in Jamalpur on November 18 forced 85-year-old Mohir Uddin and a 12-year-old girl to get married. They also tortured the old man in a village arbitration as his (Mihir Uddin) grandson allegedly raped the girl, the report said.

Today, the HC asked the deputy commissioner and superintendent of police of Jamalpur and officer-in-charge of Dewanganj Police Station to conduct an inquiry into the incident and to provide the victims with protection.

The HC bench of Justice FRM Nazmul Ahasan and Justice Shahed Nuruddin came up with the order on a suo moto (voluntary) move after Deputy Attorney General Abdullah Al Mahmud Bashar placed the newspaper report before the judges for necessary orders.

DAG Bashar told The Daily Star that he talked to the district administration of Jamalpur about the reported incident, but the administration did not know about the incident.