Minor attempts suicide to avoid marriage

NAMAKKAL: Angered by the efforts of her relatives to get her married, a Class XII student of the Government Higher Secondary School at Valsiramni near here attempted to commit suicide.Uma (16), daughter of Palaniyandi, was living with her mother, Parvathy, and was being taken care of by her uncle, Mahamani, after her father passed away.“My brother tried to marry off my daughter to Durai, a 36-year-old man who returned from Dubai recently. Uma expressed her anguish, and we agreed not to conduct the wedding,” the mother told reporters at the Namakkal Government Hospital, where Uma is undergoing treatment.“However on Wednesday, my brother again insisted that Uma should be married to Durai. Distressed by this, she drank pesticide,” Parvathy added.Uma had scored 365 marks in the Class X public examinations and she was aiming for a good score in Class XII as well, when efforts were taken to get her married, said Sudha, the 16-year-old girl’s sister-in-law.