Dibrugarh district adopts zero tolerance towards child marriage

A CORRESPONDENT

DIBRUGARH: A meeting was organized at Dibrugarh district auditorium regarding strategies to be performed to stop child marriage at Dibrugarh district on Friday. The meeting was chaired by Dibrugarh Deputy Commissioner Biswajit Pegu. In the beginning of the meeting, everyone present were sensitized of the laws and punishable acts that will be enforced for anybody who practises child marriage and also the data of Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality rate etc were displayed for information.

Dibrugarh SP Shwetank Mishra said the dibrugarh district teenage pregnancy rate is 8.4% compared to the teenage pregnancy rate of entire Assam. He said first is the prohibition of child marriage Act, 2006 in which a male adult who is above 18 years of age marries a girl below 18 years is liable for punishment and under Section 10 of this act whoever performs the marriage or promoting the marriage including guardians or parents are also equally liable for punishment.

"The second is under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, where cruelty to a child is punishable and will result in incarceration, and finally under Section 6 of the POCSO Act, 2012, physical contact with a child under the age of 18 is a serious offence and will result in rigorous imprisonment for 10 years that may extend to life," he said.

Mishra said that first detection of the areas are required where child marriages are happening and immediately to inform the nearest outpost so that prompt action can be taken. He further added that there is zero tolerance for child marriage and more strategies will be created to eradicate child marriage by 2024. Dibrugarh Additional SP Bitul Chetia stated that young girls often elope not knowing that child marriage is illegal and guardians also get involved because of the age old traditional beliefs which is still prevalent among the people of our society.