Assam: Over 560 arrested in crackdown on child marriages, says CM Himanta Sarma
· Scroll
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Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said that 564 persons had been arrested and 481 cases registered in the “latest” crackdown against alleged child marriage in the state.
Sarma did not specify the period during which the arrests had taken place.
He said that the operation would continue until the practice is eradicated from the state.
In September, the chief minister said the state’s campaign against child marriage over the past few years had resulted in more than 12,000 cases being registered and over 11,000 arrests.
He also claimed that child marriages had declined by 81% in 20 districts of Assam.
In May 2025, Sarma announced that Assam would be completely free of the practice by 2026.
The Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state has launched several campaigns against alleged child marriages over the past four years.
Thousands of women across the state have protested against the crackdown, saying the arrested men are the sole breadwinners of their families. Police data seen by Scroll shows that districts with high Muslim populations have seen more arrests than others.
In February 2023, the Gauhati High Court observed that police action was causing havoc in the state. The court made the observation while granting anticipatory bail in four separate cases of child marriage, noting that charges under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, might not be...