A poor daily wage couple in Nellore city of Andhra Pradesh sold their 12-year-old daughter to a 46-year-old man for Rs 10,000 in order to collect money for their elder daughter (16) who is suffering from a respiratory disease.
The girl was rescued by officers of the women and child welfare department on Thursday, a day after she was married to Chinna Subbaiah (46). She is currently at a district childcare centre where she is undergoing counselling.
Subbaiah, according to the police, had been abandoned by his wife following which he approached the girl's family and offered money to the Kottur based couple in exchange for marrying their daughter. As reported by The Times of India, he had bargained with the family to finalise the 'deal' at Rs 10,000 instead of the initial amount of Rs 25,000 demanded by them.
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A neighbour of the girl's family, Subbaiah had also contacted them in the past with advances to marry their elder daughter.
After marrying the younger girl on Wednesday, he brought her to his relatives' house in Dampur. The neighbours approached the local sarpanch after they heard the girl scream and went ahead to inquire about the matter.
