JAJARKOT: A seven-month-old child has been forced to stay behind bars for the crime committed by her parents.

After the Jajarkot District Court convicted Tekendra Sunar and his wife Laxmi, from Kudu of Bherimalika Municipality-11, of polygamy, their daughter Bindu has been living in jail for last two months.

They were sentenced to jail for 14 and 11 months respectively.

Tekendra's first wife had filed a case against her husband and his second wife Laxmi accusing them of polygamy.

The mother Laxmi said the child had to be kept with herself as no one was at home to take care of her.

Meanwhile, Chief at the Jajarkot District Women and Children's Office, Pragya Niraula, commented that polygamy cases were on the rise in the district owing to increasing child marriages induced by lack of awareness.

Such incidents generally leave innocent children are the receiving end, she added.

The official also suspected that many of such cases were still unreported due to various forms of pressure and women's own problems.