Bellary: As many as 48 child marriages have taken place in Bellary and Vijayanagar districts in Karnataka state in the last two months. Officials are seeing a trend where the Covid-19 lockdown is being used as a cover for the illegal marriages.
There were 36 child marriages in the month of April and 12 in the month of May, according to official sources.
The Department of Women and Child Development has said that FIRs have been filed only in three cases. The number of child marriages increased in previous lockdown also, it said.
About 240 child marriages have taken place in the two districts during the pandemic, reports said.
The Department of Women and Child Development are in dark about these marriages, as the government's focus is currently on tackling the Covid-19 outbreak.
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