Assam cracks down on men who have married under-14 girls

The Assam Cabinet on Monday directed the state police to launch a crackdown on men who have married girls below the age of 14 and arrest them under the Pocso Act while those who have married girls in the 14 to 18 age group will be arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said more than one lakh girls in the state were married before coming of age according to rough estimates citing the National Family Health Survey 5 201920 report. Sarma said the number of child marriages in Assam is on the rise and that previous governments did not pay attention to the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006 to prevent child marriages in the state. He added that as the previous governments did not pay attention to the act, Assam's infant mortality and maternal mortality rates continue to remain among the highest in the country. Sarma said he hopes to have Assam completely free of child marriages in five years.