Guwahati: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Friday that several families have cancelled planned marriages of minors in the state.
The Assam Chief Minister termed this a positive impact of the two-week-long crackdown against child marriage.
”Reports are coming from various parts of Assam that several families have cancelled pre-scheduled marriages between unde age children after our drive against such illegal practices. This is definitely a positive impact of our two-week-long crackdown against child marriage,” tweeted Sarma.
It needs to be noted that the state’s campaign against child marriage has resulted in the arrest of more than 3,000 persons thus far, and that this number is certain to rise.
”Our crackdown against child marriage has entered its second week with 3,015 arrests made so far. The drive against this social evil will continue. The positive side is that now people are coming out and surrendering before police,” Sarma had tweeted.
The Assam Police started their campaign against child marriage on February 3, and both Muslims and Hindus have been arrested as a result.
With 216 arrests, the Hojai district has seen the most arrests overall. The second most arrests for underage marriages were made in Nagaon, where 184 people in total were arrested. Third place goes to Dhubri, where the Assam government’s campaign against underage marriage has resulted in the arrest of 183 people.
The most cases are registered in Dhubri, where there are currently 383.
Following Dhurbri, Nagaon has 255 cases filed at the police station, and Kokrajhar has 209 cases filed against people involved in child marriages.