IN A MASSIVE crackdown against people involved in child marriage in the state, Assam Police on Friday arrested 1,800 people so far.
This came after Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the government is firm to end the menace of child marriage in the state.
“State-wide arrests are presently underway against those violating provisions of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act. 1800 plus have been arrested so far. I have asked Assam Police to act with a spirit of zero tolerance against the unpardonable and heinous crime of women,” CM Sarma tweeted.
The Chief Minister said the people involved in the child marriage will be arrested from Friday onwards. “In the next six or seven days, thousands of youth or men who have married girls under 18 years will be arrested. Whoever has married a minor previously or has married now will be held,” CM Sarma said after his interaction with the faculty members of Nagaon Medical College.
In the morning, the number of arrested people in the case was 1,793, which has increased to 1800 so far. The figure of the arrested persons might increase later also. The state-wide crackdown against child marriage was launched on Thursday night, following the directions of Sarma.
The Chief Minister on Thursday night chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department, including Superintendents of Police of all districts, regarding the police actions regarding the matter. Adding, CM Sarma appealed to the people to support the government’s action to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage.
The Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act will be used to file charges against those who have married girls under the age of 14, and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 will be used to file charges against those who have married girls between the ages of 14 and 18.
According to data from the National Family Health Survey, child marriage-which accounts for an average of 31 per cent of marriages registered in the state-is the main reason for Assam’s high prevalence of maternal and newborn death.
