Father marries daughter citing 'divine sanction'

KOLKATA: A villager in eastern India married his teenage daughter on grounds that he was following divine instructions, police said on Tuesday.   

Afazuddin Ali, 36, appeared before a court on Monday after villagers in West Bengal complained that he had confessed to marrying his daughter, who was now pregnant, six months ago. But he was released because police had filed the wrong charges. Police said they would try to bring new charges against him.   

"This is a very strange case as no one in the family has complained, but we will conduct medical tests to verify the girl's exact age, before filing a strong case against her father," said Ravinder Jit Singh Nalwa, a senior police officer.   

"She has never been to school as well and seems clearly terrified," Nalwa said on Tuesday. Ali, a daily wage labourer, showed no sign of remorse after he was released from court.   

"I have not committed any crime, don't you see it was God's will," a police officer quoted him as saying.