Massive crackdown on child marriages in Assam, over 1,800 offenders arrested so far

Mangalore Today News Network / News18

Guwahati, Feb 03, 2023: In a massive crackdown against cases of Child Marriage in Assam, the state government and police arrested over 1,800 offenders on Friday. Police have registered 4,004 cases of child marriage in less than a fortnight.

 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma took to Twitter and called for “zero tolerance" against child marriages in the state. “State wide arrests are presently underway against those violating provisions of Prohibhiton of Child Marriage Act," he wrote. Assam Police have been directed to have zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women, he further wrote.

 

State wide arrests are presently underway against those violating provisions of Prohibhiton of Child Marriage Act .

1800 + have been arrested so far.

I have asked @assampolice to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime on women

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 3, 2023

According to PTI, those who have married girls below 14 years of age will be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and cases under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 will be registered against those who have married girls in the 14-18 years age group.

Their marriages will be declared “illegal" and if the boy is also below 14 years of age, he will be sent to a reform house as minors cannot be tried in the court.

Assam has a high rate of maternal and infant mortality, with child marriage being the primary cause as an average of 31 per cent of marriages registered in the state are in the prohibited age, according to reports of the National Family Health Survey.

According to NHFS data, the highest number of child marriages in Assam has been reported from Dhubri, followed by Barpeta, Nagaon, and other places dominated by the minority population. However, districts in upper Assam like Dhemaji, Majuli, and Sivsagar have also recorded child marriages.

Speaking on the issue, All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) MLA Rafikul Islam last week said, “Earlier one community was targetted when it came to the topic of child marriages. Now, this list clearly shows how places where there are more of the majority population like Sivsagar and Jorhat are also on the list.  I don’t understand why the government has reacted so late to this problem."

On Thursday, Sarma chaired a virtual meeting with the superintendents of police in the presence of Director General of Police G P Singh on the state-wide police action. He appealed to the people to extend support and cooperation to “rid the state of the evil practice”.

Of the 4,004 cases of child marriage registered recently, the highest was reported in Dhubri (370), followed by Hojai (255) and Udalguri (235). Hailakandi district in Barak Valley registered only one case.