'Love' on social media leads to elopement & teen pregnancies in life

Around 300 cases of minor girls eloping with their boyfriends or running away from their homes to meet them have been reported at the Gauravi One Stop Crisis Centre in the city this year so far. They include around 50 cases where teenage girls ran away with or married their social media male friends.

- Our Staff Reporter

Many of these girls got intimate with their friends, with some becoming pregnant. In all cases, the boyfriends have been booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO), which says that having a physical relationship with a minor, even with his or her consent, is an offence. Marriages in which one or both partners are minors are also invalid.

In most such cases, girls’ parents lodge missing person reports with the police. Police trace them and bring them to the Gauravi Centre, where they are counselled and provided legal help. Many a time, parents don’t want to register FIRs for fear of social stigma. Pregnancies are terminated.