Assam Police has arrested over 2,200 people in the last two days as part of a state-wide crackdown on child marriage. In the case of child marriage, 139 people in Vishwanath, 130 in Barpeta, 126 in Dhubri, 123 in Baksa, 117 in Bongaigaon, 101 in Nagaon, 94 in Kokrajhar, 85 in Kamrup, 84 each in Goalpara and Udalguri districts has been arrested.
Assam Police has arrested 2278 people and registered 4074 cases in cases related to child marriage across the state till Sunday (February 5). Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Saturday (February 4) announced that the state police’s anti-child marriage campaign will continue till the next assembly elections in 2026. According to Sarma, instead of arresting parents who marry at an early age, they are being warned.
What did the Chief Minister say?
The chief minister said, “Our campaign will continue till 2026, when the next assembly elections will be held. We hope that by then there will be no case of child marriage in the state.”
According to the CM, the deputy commissioners have been instructed to “control the system of qazis” and create awareness against the issue.
Assam cabinet had taken a decision on child marriage
The Assam cabinet had on January 23 decided that those marrying girls below the age of 14 would be prosecuted under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act. The cabinet also decided that action under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 would be taken against those persons who married girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years. They will be arrested and their marriages will be declared unconstitutional. If the age of the bridegroom is less than 14 years, he will be taken to the “Reformation Home”.
AIUDF opposes the campaign
The AIUDF has raised its voice against the action, claiming that imprisoning people without raising awareness is wrong. AIUDF MLA Aminul Islam said that the party also opposes child marriage. Aminul said that the government is not paying attention to steps like spreading awareness, increasing the literacy rate. It is wrong to send people to jail in the name of child marriage. The Assam government has not yet made rules to implement the Child Marriage Restraint Act.
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