Assam government to finalise rehabilitation policy for victims of child marriage within 15 days

The Assam cabinet constituted a cabinet sub-committee to finalise a rehabilitation policy within 15 days for victims of child marriage.

A three-member committee headed by education minister Ranoj Pegu, state health minister Keshab Mahanta and state finance minister Ajanta Neog has been formed.

Speaking to the media, Ranoj Pegu said, "The committee will work on the rehabilitation policy of the victims of child marriage and following which it will be proposed to state goverment for implementation."

Further, the cabinet also complemented Assam police for its campaign against child marriage and directed them to continue with the clampdown.

As many as 2763 persons have been arrested so far and 4135 cases have been registered in connection with cases related to child marriage in Assam. The highest number of arrests have been made in the Hojai district which stands at 216. Nagaon comes second where a total of 184 persons were arrested in child marriage cases. Dhubri stands third where a total of 183 persons have been arrested in the Assam government's crackdown against child marriage.

Also Read: Assam: 2763 persons arrested so far in crackdown on child marriage

Dhubri has the highest number of registered cases which stands at 383. Nagaon follows Dhurbri with 255 cases registered in the police station. Kokrajhar comes next where 209 cases have been registered against persons involved in child marriage.

Protests against the arrests by women activists and wives of the accused persons were also reported from Matia in the Goalpara district and Silchar in the Cachar district. They protested before a transit camp in Matia and a stadium in Silchar, which were converted to temporary jails to accommodate those arrested in child marriage cases. 

Earlier, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had earlier asserted that the drive will continue till the 2026 Assembly election.

"Our crackdown against child marriage continues with 2,666 arrests made so far. The drive against this social evil will continue. We seek the support of the people of Assam in our fight against this social crime.", the Chief Minister said in a tweet.

Justifying the crackdown, Sarma pointed out that teenage pregnancy accounted for nearly 17 per cent of over 6.2 lakh pregnant women last year in the state.