Munna Marandi, the son of Bharatiya Janata Party's Jharkhand President Tala Marandi, has come under fire for allegedly sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl for two years, and then marrying another minor, this one 11 years old. According to India Today, an FIR was lodged against Marandi on Friday in the child marriage case.

The 16-year-old had lodged a complaint with the Jharkhand Women's Commission on Wednesday. She has also filed a complaint at a court in Godda district. In her complaint, the girl said Munna Marandi befriended her and gave her a mobile phone on which they stayed in touch. She claimed he exploited her sexually saying he would marry her, then tied the knot with the 11-year-old girl on June 28.

Chairperson of the state Women’s Commission Mahua Maji confirmed that the 16-year-old had approached the commission and said they have written to the local director general of police. Another official told NDTV that a notice could also be sent to Tala Marandi, who represents the Borio Assembly constituency of Sahibganj district, for allegedly allowing his son to marry a minor.

The girl’s lawyer Pramod Sharma said, “We had filed a case seeking registration of FIR against Munna Marandi for sexually exploiting the minor girl. On June 23, the court had asked Boarijore police station in Godda to investigate the matter.” Godda Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Kumar, however, said they have not received any court order yet, reported The Indian Express.

Opposition parties have demanded an enquiry against Tala Marandi, who was appointed to his post in June. “The BJP should sack the state president and a fair probe should be instituted to investigate the allegations of sexual exploitation and marriage with a minor girl," General Secretary of the state Congress unit Alok Dubey told IANS.