Jaipur, May 9 (IANS): On the eve of Akshaya Tritiya, which is also associated with child marriage in Rajasthan, a 17-year-old girl was freed from the shackles of the evil practice as her child marriage was annulled before she attained adulthood on Thursday.

Sugandha (name changed) was married at the tender age of 10 and sent to her in-law's place at 16, before being freed from the bondage at the age of 17.

Daughter of a daily wager at a village in Jodhpur district, she bore the brunt of child marriage for seven long years.

Under societal pressure, her ‘Gauna’ -- a custom in North India associated with the consummation of marriage -- was performed following which she was sent to her in-law's house at the age of 16, where her husband and in-laws reportedly subjected her to verbal abuse.

The family court in Jodhpur has now finally annulled the child marriage of Sugandha and freed her from the shackles of the evil practice.

Sugandha got information from the women's police station about the campaign against child marriage run by Kriti Bharti, Managing Trustee of Jodhpur's Saarthi Trust, who is also a rehabilitation psychologist and child & women's rights advocate.

After she met Bharti and narrated her ordeal, the latter filed a case about five months ago for the annulment of Sugandha's child marriage.

Annulling Sugandha's child marriage, the judge of Family Court No. 2, Pradeep Kumar Modi, said that everyone must take responsibility for eradicating this evil practice from the society.