JOIN US A 10-year-old girl was rescued from the Devadasi system, abolished by law many years ago, at Mavinasur village in Chittapur taluk of Kalaburagi district on Thursday.
Acting on a tip-off received on the Child Helpline (1098), a team of officials visited the village and rescued the girl.
Speaking to DH, District Child Welfare Committee member Vithal Chikane said the girl, a Class V student at the government primary school in village, was made a Devadasi five years ago. Her teachers were aware of the incident but didn’t bring it the notice of their superiors.
Chikane said the couple faced a lot of problems and had lost two of their children. The couple claimed they were blessed with a daughter after praying at Sammavva Temple in the nearby Bedasoor village. On the suggestions of the priest, Sharanappa (70), the couple decided to make their daughter a Devadasi. The temple still follows the Devadasi system. The girl underwent a marriage ritual, with Sharanappa tying a ‘Thali’ and she became a Devadasi, he added.
“Sharanappa claimed he had been the priest at the temple for the past 40-50 years and had made nearly 1,000 girls Devadasis,” Chikane said.