A 16 year old boy from Nainital has alleged that he was forcefully married to another minor girl by his father and his cousin brother because they got to know he is gay. The boy complained to the police, who have registered an FIR against his father and cousin brother, according to a report in the Hindi daily Amar Ujala.

The boy was taken to Tanda in Uttar Pradesh (UP), where despite his opposition, he was forcefully married off on 20th March. Some other media reports mention that due to the lockdown, he couldn’t come to the police earlier, and that when he refused to have relations with the girl, his father threatened to kill him.

The boy says he is gay and wants to live with his boyfriend instead. In an interview to News18, he told that his family is now forcing him to take back the police complaint and that he fears he will be taken to Tanda and killed. Police have registered a Zero FIR against the accused under relevant sections of the IPC and will transfer the case to UP police.

The father on the other hand claimed that the boy’s mental condition was not stable and he must be taken to a doctor.

Often, those who oppose homosexuality claim it to be a mental disorder and take their children to psychiatrist and doctors, subjecting them to cruel treatments like conversion therapy or even give them electric shocks. Last month, a 21 year old queer woman hailing from Kerala who had alleged that her family was torturing her and had got her admitted to a hospital where she was subjected to conversion therapy, had committed suicide in Goa.

Sukhdeep Singh