Assam: Crackdown on child marriages continues, 2,528 persons arrested so far

A total of 2,528 persons have been arrested across the state as the crackdown on child marriage continues in the state, said Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 7.

Till February 6, Assam police had arrested 2,442 persons in connection with the cases related to child marriage across the state and have registered more than 4074 cases.

The Matia transit camp in Goalpara and a stadium in Silchar have been converted into temporary jails by the Assam government to house people arrested on charges of either marrying girls under the age of 18 or solemnizing and encouraging more than 2400 such marriages.

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The official spokesperson for Assam Police, IG (law & order) Prashanta Kumar Bhuyan, stated, "The Assam government has converted the Matia transit camp and a stadium in Silchar into temporary jails for the reason that jails in a few districts have become overcrowded." There are 3,000 people who can be held in the transit camp.

Under Section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, which deals with the punishment for male adults who contract a child marriage, four people have been booked for marrying girls who were underage. In a similar vein, individuals who have promoted or permitted solemnizing child marriages and those who have solemnized child marriages have been booked under Section 11 of the Act. 2,441 men have been detained by the police as of February 6, including priests, kazis, married minors, and their families.

In the meantime, wives of men arrested on suspicion of marrying minors continued to press for their husbands' release. Outside of the Biswanath police station, a woman who was weeping said, "Who will take care of my family if they (police) keep my husband in jail?" My child is one year old.