416 persons arrested in fresh crackdown on child marriages, says Himanta Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that 416 persons have been arrested in cases allegedly related to child marriages following statewide raids on Saturday night.

A total of 335 cases have been registered, said Sarma, adding that the arrested persons would be presented in court on Sunday.

“We will continue to take bold steps to end this social evil,” the chief minister wrote in a social media post.

This is the third such crackdown launched by the Bhartiya Janata party government in the state in the last two years against alleged child marriages.

On September 11, 2023, the state government informed the Legislative Assembly that 3,907 people had been arrested since February that year in the first round of the crackdown. Of these, 3,319 arrests were made under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

In October last year, more than 1,000 persons were arrested in cases allegedly related to child marriages.

In January 2023, Sarma had announced that the Assam government was launching a state-wide drive against child marriages and would book men marrying girls below 14 years of age under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, and those marrying girls aged 14 to 18 under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act.

In February, he said that 4,004 cases had been registered, adding that the main targets of the authorities would be the “mullahs, kazis and pujaris” who encouraged child marriages.

Subsequently, the Gauhati High Court observed that police action was causing havoc in the state. The court made the observation while granting anticipatory bail in four separate cases of child marriage, noting that charges under the POCSO Act might not be justified.

In August, the state Assembly passed the Assam Compulsory Registration of Muslim Marriages and Divorces Bill, which makes it mandatory for marriages among Muslims to be registered with the government.

The bill replaced the British-era Assam Moslem Marriages and Divorces Registration Act, 1935, which dealt with these matters till then.

Sarma had said at the time that the passing of the bill marked a “historic day” in the fight against child marriage.

“It will also act as a strict deterrent against teenage pregnancy and improve overall growth of our girls,” Sarma said.

The chief minister had added that his next target was to ban polygamy.

Also read: Will Assam’s child marriage arrests undo the work of community activists?