Assam crackdown on child marriage begins, more than 1,800 arrested so far

Of the 4,004 cases cited by him, the highest number — 370 — were registered in Dhubri district. This is followed by 255 in Hojai, 224 in Morigaon, 204 in Kokrajhar and 171 in Nalbari.

Hojai superintendent of police Barun Purkayastha said police had identified the cases with help from other stakeholders. “There are government institutions at the village and town levels, NGOs, Childline. We are working with a number of different sources. We have gaonburas. In some cases, even villagers and schools are coming forward with inputs. We have compiled information from all of them. After verification, action is being taken against them,” he said.

On January 23, Sarma announced that the BJP government would launch a statewide drive against child marriage and that men marrying girls below 14 would be booked under the POCSO Act whereas men marrying girls aged between 14 and 18 would be booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

The stated aim of the drive is to address the high maternal and infant mortality rates in the state, which the government has attributed to early motherhood.

Sarma has said the government will retrospectively book people who have engaged in child marriage in the past seven years and that the focus would especially be on “mullahs, qazis and pujaris” officiating such marriages.