KALAIYA: Police said a 25-year-old man who was about to tie the knot with a 12 -year-old girl was arrested from their marriage ceremony at Subarna Rural Municipality-3 in Bara district.

Nepal outlawed child marriage in 1963 and the country's law states that both men and women have to be 20 years of age before they can legally marry.

Acting on a tip-off, police held Ram Narendra Prasad Yadav of Balirampur-9 and took the child bride under their protection on Friday.

Organising a press conference here on Sunday, Superintendent of Police (SP) Narendra Uprety shared that the parents of both bride and groom as well as the priest fled the venue after police arrived.

The groom will be booked as per the law pertaining to the Muluki Ain's (General Code)'s marriage column.

Police have launched a manhunt for the fugitives, police said.

According to the Human Rights Watch report released in September last year, 37 per cent of girls are married off before the age of 18.