GUWAHATI: The Assam police arrested 431 people for their alleged involvement in cases of child marriage.
The arrests were made during a statewide crackdown on the night of December 21-22. Altogether 345 cases were also registered.
The highest number of people, 68, were arrested from lower Assam’s Dhubri district. Nobody was arrested from Dima Hasao, Tamulpur, Biswanath, Jorhat districts, Hamren (West Karbi Anglong) and Guwahati.
“Assam continues its fight against child marriage…We will continue to take bold steps to end this social evil,” Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma posted on X.
The drive against child marriage was launched in February 2023 when 3,425 people were arrested and 4,387 cases registered. In the second phase in October of that year, 913 people were arrested and 682 cases were registered.
A report, released by the India Child Protection on the World Day for International Justice in July, stated there had been a whopping 81% reduction in child marriage cases across 20 districts of Assam between 2021-22 and 2023-24.
Sarma had then said, “This exceptional report is a shining testament to our sustained efforts in empowering Nari Shakti. We will not rest till we eliminate this social evil.”
He stated the cases dropped significantly in 2024 in the villages surveyed. He said child marriage had been completely eradicated from 30 per cent of the surveyed villages while a staggering 98 per cent of the villages surveyed backed the crackdown.
“Out of the 20 districts surveyed, Nagaon and Jorhat have achieved a 100 per cent reduction in child marriage, while seven other districts have achieved over 80 per cent reduction. In minority-concentrated districts, there has been a stark decrease in instances of child marriage,” Sarma had stated.
He attributed the turnaround to strong community support for taking stringent action against perpetrators and sustained arrests followed by rigorous prosecution.