Story By: Conor Sheils, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News

Village elders in India about to force a man to marry his underage daughter to punish him for accidentally running over a calf were stopped after government officials intervened.

The unnamed man had previously hit the calf in the country where cows are holy while riding his motorbike in a village near Vidisha, a city in the state of Madhya Pradesh, India.

In the area, it is a local custom to enforce sanctions on people who kill cows accidentally that include asking the alleged culprit to take a dip in the Ganges, throw a feast for villagers or in particularly severe cases, to marry his own daughter if he has one.

They believe that this is the only way to ward off bad luck. Police chief B D Singh told local media that the man had already taken a dip in the Ganges and thrown a feast for villagers but nobody turned up.

As such, the village elders ordered him to marry his underage daughter.

Thankfully, a team from the country’s Women and Child Development department went to the village with police before the sick ceremony could be carried out.

Initially, family members said that she was of legal age to be married but later check of her ID card proved she was in fact under 14.

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