Assam drive against child marriage: Himanta says arrests in 4,000 cases to begin today

On January 23, Sarma had announced that the Assam government will launch a statewide drive against child marriage, booking men marrying girls below 14 years of age under Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, and those marrying girls aged 14-18 under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

Since the announcement, the Assam Police has registered 4,004 cases against child marriage across the state and action in these cases will begin on Friday, said the Chief Minister.

“These many cases have been registered within nine days; by tomorrow this number might cross 8,000 or 9,000. From Friday, our arrests and action will begin. People will be picked up from across the state. It will be a massive action… All the people who were involved in child marriage in the last seven years will be booked retrospectively… Our main targets will be the mullahs, kazis or pujaris who encourage these marriages,” he said.

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

Though Dhubri and Morigaon are Muslim majority districts, and Hojai and Nalbari have significant Muslim populations, Sarma reiterated his earlier statement that the crackdown would not be targeted against any particular community. “Action will be taken against all irrespective of caste, creed, religion,” he said.

The stated aim of the government’s drive is addressing the high maternal mortality and infant mortality rates in the state, which it has pinned on early motherhood. Assam has the highest maternal mortality rate in the country with 195 deaths per one lakh live births in 2018-2020, according to data released by the Registrar General of India in 2022. According to the National Family Health Survey-5, Assam has the third highest infant mortality rate at 32 deaths per 1,000 live births.