Jaipur, Dec 24 (IANS): After being shockingly married off at the innocent age of just 2, a Rajasthan girl was finally freed from the clutches of child marriage after 18 long years on Thursday.

Soon after, the victim, expressing her happiness, said that she wanted to pursue her dream of becoming a police officer.

Nimbu, who is a resident of Baap tehsil of Jodhpur district, was married off in May 2002 when she was a mere 2 years old in Bikaner district.

Speaking to IANS, she said, "This child marriage had ruined me but Kriti Didi (Kriti Bharti, the managing trustee and rehabilitation psychologist of Saarthi Trust) has given me a new life and now my child marriage is over. Now I will study and become a police officer," she said.

Judge Mahendra Kumar Sinhal of Jodhpur's Family Court No 1 ordered the annulment of the child marriage on Thursday.

Bharti told IANS, "Nimbu and her family were under a lot of stress due to the pressure of the society. Now best efforts are being made for better rehabilitation of Nimbu after annulment of her child marriage."

"Nimbu wanted to free herself from the bond of child marriage, however, community leaders (caste panches) put a lot of pressure and had started threatening to exclude her family from the community (jati)," said Bharti.

In the meantime, Nimbu got information about child marriage annulment campaign being run by Bharti of Saarthi Trust. She contacted Bharti and then filed her case for annulment in the family court in Jodhpur. Bharti, on behalf of Nimbu, presented the facts of age, marriage and others in court.

Judge Sinhal then issued an order of annulment of child marriage of Nimbu. Judge Sinhal gave a strong message against child marriage to society. When Nimbu thanked the judge, he said that it is everyone's responsibility to end the practice of child marriage.