TN man arrested for marrying, sexually assaulting minor girl

THANJAVUR: The Vallam town all-woman police in Thanjavur district of Tamil Nadu arrested a 43-year-old man for marrying and sexually assaulting a minor girl.
The police identified the accused as S Balraj, 43, of Mettupatti village in Thanjavur. Balraj was in charge of hiring workers for textile showrooms in the district.
The 14-year-old minor girl, a native of Thiruverumbur in Trichy district, moved to Valappakudi village in Thanjavur along with her family in 2018.In a few months, Balraj visited Valappakudi to hire workers. He noticed the girl and decided to marry her.
Though the girl opposed, he forced her into the marriage by convincing the poverty-stricken family. The marriage was conducted in a relative's house in Pudukkottai district in September 2019.
After the ‘indoor’ wedding, the couple stayed in a rented house in Pudukkottai district. Balraj had sexually assaulted the girl on a daily basis.
He again married her in a mass wedding ceremony organised under marriage assistance scheme as part of the late chief minister J Jayalalithaa’s birthday celebrations on March 22, 2020, in Thanjavur. Balraj decided to be part of the mass wedding for gold and utensils from the organisers. Following this, the two again moved to Balraj’s native in Mettupatti.
This apart, the man also forced the girl to lodge a rape attempt complaint against a few people from his native as he had issues with them. On refusing to do so, he threatened to kill her.
On Monday, the girl managed to escape from the house and lodged a complaint against Balraj with the Vallam town all-woman police with the help of her relatives.
Based on her compliant, the police registered a case and arrested him under various sections.
The police said he was booked on charges of sexual assault on the child repeatedly under the Pocso Act and Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006. He was remanded in judicial custody.