Minor Develops Labour Pain Amidst Madhyamik Examination In Bengal's Murshidabad

The mother of the 16-year-old said she was married off at an early age due to the demise of her father. Cops probe the matter.

Kandi: On the inaugural day of the Madhyamik (secondary) Examination 2025 on Monday, an examinee suddenly experienced labour pain while writing the papers and was rushed to a nearby hospital from where she completed it.

This surprising incident of Kandi in Murshidabad district portrays a poor picture of unabated child marriage in West Bengal. However, the mother of the girl said she was married off early due to the demise of her father.

"We are looking into how the girl was married off by family members before attaining the right age," Surya Pratap Yadav, SP, Murshidabad, said.

According to police, the 16-year-old girl was normal while entering the examination hall, but suddenly developed labour pain in the middle of the examination. The matter was informed to the police by school authorities. She was immediately brought to the Kandi Sub-Divisional Hospital where she completed the remaining paper under the supervision of a doctor and an examiner. This was possible by the timely effort of the district administration and Kandi police station.

"My daughter got married at 16. It has been 10 months since and she is pregnant for nine months. Today (Monday), she went to give the secondary examination when she had labour pains. The police brought her and admitted her to the hospital where and gave the examination," the mother said.

Asked about why she married her daughter prematurely, she said, "Her father died. So I married her off at a young age. Both the school authorities and the hospital refrain from making any statement on the matter.

Notably, the number of secondary examinees in Murshidabad is 94,448 among which 41,695 are male and 52,753 are female. A total of 153 examination centres have been set up in the district.