Rukum, baal vivah ko arop ma jail. RUKUM: District Court, Rukum, today slapped a youth with one-month imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1,000 for marrying an underage girl. A single bench of district judge Hemanta Rawal gave a verdict to this effect along with the nullification of the wedding of 19-year-old Tej Bahadur Pariyar of Rugha VDC-7. District court Registrar Lok Bahadur Hamal said that Pariyar was punished because the law says that the groom must be 20 and the bride must be at least 18 to tie the knot and they need to get parental consent. The girl, only 15, of Syalapakha VDC-3, had eloped with him on April 24. However, the girl’s family had lodged a complaint against Pariyar at District Police Office, Rukum, on April 28, accusing him of marrying her by ‘taking her away forcefully’. Following the complaint, police arrested Pariyar and filed a case against him at the court. In his version to the police, Pariyar said he was forced to tie the knot with her after the latter threatened to commit suicide if he did not marry her. The girl admitted that this was what had happened, said police. This was the first verdict delivered by the court against a child marriage accused. One more case of child marriage is still subjudice in the court. Though in the remote districts of the country, child marriages are common, only a few cases come to notice, police said.