Advertisement
Guwahati: The Assam government will start a massive campaign against child marriage from Friday. During this, the culprits will be arrested and a comprehensive awareness campaign will be launched. Chief Minister Himanta Vishwa Sharma gave this information. Police have registered 4,004 cases of child marriage in less than a fortnight.
The Chief Minister tweeted, “The Assam government is firm in its resolve to end child marriage in the state. Assam Police has so far registered 4,004 cases (of child marriage) across the state and more police action is expected in the coming days. Action on these cases will start from February 3. I request everyone’s cooperation. Assam Police has so far arrested 1,800 people in cases related to child marriage across the state.”
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
Inspector General of Police (IGP) (L&O) and spokesperson of Assam police Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan had earlier told news agency media, “Out of these, 131 persons have been arrested in Biswanath. The arrested persons’ figure might be increased. Operations are still on.
Those marrying girls below the age of 14 will be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act and those marrying girls aged 14-18 years under the Prevention of Child Marriage Act, 2006 Case will be registered. Such people will be arrested and the marriage will be declared invalid.If the age of the boy is also less than 14 years then he will be sent to a reform home as minors cannot be produced in the court.
On January 23, 2023, the Assam Cabinet approved a crackdown on child marriages as the National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5) carried out between 2019 and 2020 showed that percentage of women aged between 20 and 24 married before the legal age of 18 in the state was 31.8 per cent, compared to the national figure of 23.3 per cent.
