Six girls, four from Gharuan and two from Sakrulapur, all in the age group of 13 to 15 years, have eloped this week alone. While two were found with boys of the same village, four were recovered from Anandpur Sahib.

The police helped residents of these villages in catching these minors. The Kharar (Sadar) police has registered a case of abduction and rape against one of the two boys. The parents of four other girls did not want to get a case registered. Kharar DSP Raj Balwinder Singh said two cases were registered on such complaints during this week.

Parents of the six girls have decided to pull them out of school. “We have no option. We can’t let the girls leave home alone. They are obviously not interested in studying. Their parents will now want to marry them off. And they cannot be blamed,” said the wife of a functionary of Gharuan village panchayat.

The village has seen around 20-25 elopements (all majors) and subsequent love marriages of the couples. Residents feel minors have taken a cue from such instances. “The trend is dangerous. Minor girls are eloping and being recovered after a day or two. I can understand the plight of parents when their daughter does not return home,” she added.

When a Tribune team today visited the Gharuan village, which has a population of around 10,000, the residents avoided responding when they were asked about cases of elopement. “It is not a matter of pride. We have a problem at hand. We need to sort it out,” said a resident.

Sarabjeet Singh, Sarpanch of Gharuan village, was also tight-lipped on the happenings. “I do not want to say anything. We have a problem of eloping minors. We do not know how to handle it. We held a meeting two days ago and expressed concern over it,” he said.

"Boys and girls of professional colleges that have come up near our villages are seen together by our children. They think they can also befriend members of opposite sex. Once they do so, they do not know where they are going," said a village resident.

• Six girls, four from Gharuan and two from Sakrulapur village, have eloped so far this week. All were in the 13-15 year age group
• While two were found with boys of the same village, four were traced to Anandpur Sahib and brought back
• The police lodged a case of abduction and rape against one of the two boys while parents of the other girls didn’t want to press charges