Over 1,000 arrested in massive crackdown against child marriage cases in Assam

Guwahati :  Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said over 1,000 people have been arrested in cases related to child marriages in Assam.
The arrests were made after Sarma had last month indicated that 3,000 people will be arrested for their involvement in child marriages.
Updating the number of arrests relating to child marriages in his micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter), the Chief Minister said, “The number now stands at 1,039.”
“In a massive crackdown against child marriage, Assam Police has arrested over 800 accused persons in a special operation which began in the early hours of dawn. The number of arrests is likely to rise,” Sarma said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) for 2019-21, about 32 per cent of girls, which is higher than the national average of 23 per cent, in Assam, were married off before attaining the legal age of 18 years.
Assam accounted for 16.8 per cent of teenage pregnancies resulting from child marriages.
In September 11, Sarma had told the Assembly that 3,907 people had been arrested after the state-wide crackdown against child marriage under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act began in February 3, 2023.
He said the crackdown on child marriage will continue till 2026 when the next Assembly elections are due in Assam.