Social worker Kamali Soren, who received the Padma Shri this year, went to Habibpur in Malda district to stop the wedding of an underage girl on Sunday evening.

She also assured the girl’s parents that she would bear the 14-year-old’s educational and other expenses till she was eligible for marriage.

The district social welfare department is probing the case.

Sources said the 14-year-old Class VIII student of Baijail, a locality in Habibpur, refused to marry at an early age and wanted to continue with her studies.

When she failed to convince her parents, the girl desperately sought help from her teachers over phone and urged them to do whatever was needed to stop her wedding.

The teachers held a virtual meeting and informedthe district Childline (helpline).

Soren said she came to know about the issue from other sources and rushed to the girl’s house before anyone else turned up. She spoke with her parents and explained it was illegal to get a girl aged below 18 married off.

When parents cited poverty as their compulsion, Soren assured them of regular monetary help.

“I requested the parents to cancel the marriage... When I heard about the family’s financial distress, I offered to pay Rs 2,000 a month for her education and other expenses. Thankfully, the parents realised their mistake and called off the marriage,” Soren said.

Mrityunjay Haldar, her teacher, said she was a serious student.

The elated girl said her parents had told her after Soren’s intervention that she could study further and there was no marriage on the cards for her now. “I want to study. Girls are excelling in all fields nowadays. If I am allowed to study, I will also be financially independent,” she said.

Kalidas Bhattacharya, Malda district social welfare officer, said the department would enquire if the girl’s family was receiving all the benefits of the social welfare schemes run by the state government.