Dhaka, Sep 13 - Unable to repay a loan taken after cyclone Aila hit his village, a man has been 'coerced' into marrying off his 13-year-old daughter to a 75-year-old moneylender in Barisal, southern Bangladesh.

The marriage between Akhinur, 13, and 75-year-old moneylender Lokman Sikder was solemnised Sep 4, as the teenager's father Azhar Bepari could not return Tk 4,000 ($ 58) he had borrowed in May this year.

The residents of Banimordhon village allege that Sikder took advantage of the financial crisis of the poor family and forced Akhinur's parents to marry her off to him for not being able to repay the loan.

Sikder's first wife Ayesha Bibi objected to the marriage. She demanded that her husband should be punished.

Police say they sent a team to catch Sikder but could not trace him.