1800 People Arrested: Assam CM On Government’s Drive Against Child Marriages

This was a much-needed step.

No matter how many laws are there in India against child marriages, this crime continues to take place in various parts of our country. The government’s measures need to be stricter and set a good example for it, Assam government has launched a drive to arrest people in for committing the crime of child marriage. The Assam CM Himanta Biswas recently spoke on the details of the campaign and said that he expects to have more held under the crime.

The Assam government launched the crackdown on child marriages on Friday, February 3. Taking to his social media platform, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma informed everyone that his government held some 1800 people for going against the Child Marriage Act. He further wrote that the Assam police were given orders not to go easy on people who commit such pathetic crimes against women. 

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

On Thursday, the Assam CM also had a meeting with state officials to plan out the drive against child marriages in th state. The sole purpose of this is to stop the practice of child marriages. As per the news, the CM had also said that around 4000 cases of child marriages were registered with the state.

Chaired a VC of SPs in presence of DGP @gpsinghips regarding State-wide police action to be launched from tomorrow against child marriage & reviewed the arrangements.

I appeal to people to extend support & cooperate with us in our endeavour to rid the State of the evil practice. pic.twitter.com/Lak2eUSOSX

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 2, 2023

Also Read: Karnataka Had The Highest Amount Of Child Marriages During Pandemic Lockdown

The Child Marriage Act, of 2006 limits a man’s and a woman’s age of marriage. For women, the bar is set to 21, whereas for women, it is 18. The act also states that any person who violates the law can be sent to jail for a minimum of two years, and they shall also be fined up to 1 lakh. However, even after the presence of this law, this crime still happens on a large scale in India. As per news, it was reported that in 2021, around 95 per cent of child marriage cases were yet to be heard by the court. If this is the case, then the people will clearly not fear the law. It’s good to see that Assam has seriously taken a major step towards instilling fear among people.

Andhra Pradesh Ranks Highest In Child Marriages Among Five Southern States, NFHS-5 Reports