INDIA: A nine-year-old Indian girl was married to a dog amid Hindu chants after a priest told her parents the wedding would ward off evil, an official said yesterday.
The marriage between Karnamoni and a mongrel called Bachchan took place earlier this month in Khannan village, some 60 km north-west of Calcutta.
"The priest told the girl's family, who are poor tribal farmers, that because new teeth appeared on her upper gums rather her lower gums, it was a bad omen and she would die," said a government welfare officer. "The priest said to ward off danger to her life, the parents should marry the girl to a dog, which they did."
Officials and witnesses said Karnamoni married the dog, on a raised dais amid chanting of religious hymns and the feeding of the canine "groom" with rice.
The government in West Bengal said it planned to investigate the wedding, although it was merely a ceremonial one and the girl will be free to marry a man when she is older. - (Reuters)