A 17-year-old from Aranguez, who allegedly went missing after eloping with her 28-year-old boyfriend last month, has surrendered to police.
The T&T Guardian understands that after the teenager read an exclusive report in Tuesday’s edition of this newspaper on her husband Mitchum Deosingh’s arrest over their marriage and her subsequent disappearance, she decided to go to police to clarify the issue.
The teenager contacted her husband’s attorney Nikolas Ali and the pair went to the Barataria Police Station yesterday morning to make a report.
Contacted yesterday, Ali said the teenager gave a statement to investigators in which she claimed she was never missing. She allegedly said she decided to leave her relatives’ home and stay by a friend after police ordered her to return there after she attempted to move out with Deosingh on August 27. She allegedly said her relatives were aware of her decision and the location where she was staying.
After giving the statement, the teen was allowed to leave the station with Ali and return to her husband.
On Monday, Deosingh, a mechanic, was arrested by detectives of the Child Protection Unit, who mistakenly believed that the marriage was illegal. He was released the following day after his lawyer pointed out that the Miscellaneous Provisions (Marriage) Act, which raised the marriage age to 18, is yet to be be proclaimed.
Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi has said that the proclamation will take place soon.
“The proclamation is just awaiting the finalization of the forms which Parliamentary Council and Registrar General has just provided. The issue will then go to Cabinet for its consideration,” Al-Rawi said in an interview on Tuesday.
In a interview on Tuesday, Deosingh explained that he met his wife in December last year and they decided to get married after a seven-month relationship. The couple allegedly informed his wife’s relatives of their plans but they were strongly opposed to it.
Under the Hindu Marriage Act, which will be repealed when the new legislation is eventually proclaimed, parental permission is only required when children are under 14-years-old.
On August 23, the couple eloped with the assistance of a pundit from Bamboo Settlement, Valsayn, in the presence of two witnesses.
Deosingh said several days after the ceremony he and his wife went to the Barataria Police Station to seek assistance in retrieving her clothes and personal items from her home.
However, he said police intervened and began questioning the validity of their marriage. They later returned his wife back to her relatives, but did not arrest Deosingh until this week.