Tragic: Mahadev Das, 15, committed suicide shortly after having been forced to Marry his brother's 25-year-old widow in Gaya in Bihar state
A 15-year-old boy has killed himself after his family forced him to marry his dead brother's widow.
High school student Mahadev Das Committed Suicide just hours after marrying Ruby Devi, who at 25 was ten years his senior, in Gaya in Bihar state.
Mahadev had agreed to the marriage due to pressure from his family to marry his sister-in-law following the death of his brother in 2013.
Mahadev's father Chandreshwar Das, 80, told Hindustan Times that the teenager had been unwilling to marry a woman who 'used to take care of him like her own children.'
Das explained to the newspaper that he had received monetary compensation when Mahadev's older brother died in 2013. However, as the death had left Ms Devi widowed, her family had demanded the full sum as a form of dowry repayment.
'They kept on exerting pressure on me to either give the money or marry my son with Ruby,' Mr Das added.
Police in the area are now investigating the case and the family may be prosecuted for child marriage.
Despite the fact that child marriages are illegal in India, they still take place, but most involve teenage girls.
A 2005 UN report stated that 30 per cent of girls aged 15 to 19 were married, and four per cent of teenage boys.
According to the law, a man must be 21 and a woman 18 to marry.
