Assam Police rescues 16-year-old girl from getting married to 29-year-old man

The police have arrested the groom, identified as Sanwar Hussain, the Qazi, and the groom’s uncle

Within barely three days of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma’s cabinet announcing stringent measures, and a major crackdown on incidents of child marriage, a team of Assam police rescued a 16-year-old minor girl from child marriage in the Kurbaha area of Assam’s Barpeta district on Thursday and arrested the 29-year-old groom.

The groom, identified as Sanwar Hussain, the Qazi, and the groom’s uncle was produced in the court today. The girl’s father, however, managed to escape.

It is on January 23, the Assam cabinet had announced that men who marry girls younger than 14 years would be booked under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses (POCSO) Act.

“Men marrying girls in the age group of 14–18 will be booked under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, and necessary steps will be taken against them under this law,” Chief Minister Sarma said.

The Assam Chief Minister also informed that the Assam Police has been ordered to launch a massive crackdown on child marriage in the next 15 days.

Himanta Biswa Sarma maintained that the operation would not target any particular community. The Assam government had decided to go all out after incidents of child marriage as the percentage of child marriage cases stood at 31%, much higher than the national average of 26.8% as per the NFHS-5.

Also Read: Assam govt’s big crackdown on Child Marriage: Those found guilty to be booked under POCSO act, to face life time imprisonment

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