Drive against child marriage to be intensified: CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

 STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma today held a meeting in Guwahati with all Deputy Commissioners, Superintendents of Police and District Magistrates over the child marriage issue. He directed them to intensify the drive against child marriage. He said that action must be taken under the purview of law so that the guilty cannot go scot free.

Unfazed by the criticism from various quarters over the State Government’s crackdown against child marriage, Chief Minister Sarma later said that out of all the arrests made across the State, only 8.23% people have been granted bail. He also made it clear that the arrests were not made after verifying the religious affiliations of the people.

Chief Minister Sarma said, “We are resolute in our commitment to end such social evils and eliminate simple acts of offenders.” He further said that due to the crackdown against child marriage, many pre-planned child marriages have been cancelled, and people whose children have just turned 18 years of age or will be turning 18 soon are now visiting police stations to understand the nitty-gritties of the legal age for marriage. “This is definitely a positive impact of our two-week-long crackdown against child marriage,” he said.

The Chief Minister said that a call centre exclusively dedicated to the problems of child marriage will be made operational to prevent child marriages in the State. “A network will be encouraged to be formed to share intelligence with the government regarding any purported move for child marriage or commission of child marriage any part of the state. Special attention will be paid at vulnerable areas for child marriage. Moreover, steps will be taken to empower the girls to help them to resist child marriage,” he said.

The Chief Minister added that the courts have been apprised of the details, and out of the 3,047 arrests made so far across the State, only 251 people (8.23 %) have been granted bail. So far, a total of 4,235 cases have been registered and 3,047 people have been arrested. Out of them, 2,587 people have been remanded to judicial custody and 56 to police custody. There are a total of 6,707 accused in the 4,235 cases registered, which means that many people are yet to be arrested.

“Deputy Commissioners have been asked to communicate with the government at the earliest for providing any rehabilitation measure required for some girls who are victims of child marriage. I call upon every stakeholder to co-operate with the government to end the menace of child marriage and help Assam to get rid of infant and maternal mortality,” said the Chief Minister.

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