Guwahati: Police on Saturday fired tear gas and lathi-charged to disperse hundreds of women, many of them carrying children, who were arrested the previous day for marrying underage girls. They had stormed a police station in Assam’s Dhubri district to get their husbands released.
The crackdown on child marriage led to over 200 arrests in the day in the state.
A mob of women comprising the child bride, her mother and mother-in-law and other women supporters stormed the Tamabil police station demanding the immediate release of the men. After being pushed back, they locked the compound gate from outside and blocked the road.
Similar scenes of protests by women were also seen in many other police stations of the state, but no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “When a man marries a Baby girlit is equal rape, Have we tried to feel the pain the child is going through? Will I marry my daughter at the age of 12 or 13? A generation will have to pay for saving lakhs of girls from child marriage in the future. There’s no sympathy. This action will continue and child marriage has to be stopped in Assam.”
Assam Police IG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar Bhuiyan said, “The incident took place at Tamabil police station where some people had come. We had to use mild means to disperse them.”
2,258 men arrested for child marriage
With Saturday’s fresh arrests, the total number of arrests has gone up to 2,258, but over a thousand others are either absconding from their homes or working outside the state.
Also, at least 70 of these arrested husbands have been released on interim bail by courts in Majuli and Tinsukia districts.
Sarma said that men marrying girls above 14 years of age have been arrested under bailable sections, but those marrying girls below 14 years have been arrested under non-bailable sections.
Sarma said that altogether 4,074 cases of child marriage have been registered where 8,134 persons (including parents of grooms and Qazis and priests) have been made accused. Sarma said, “The parents named in the FIR will not be arrested immediately. We will first send notices to them. Around 3,500 of the named accused are to be arrested and sent to the courts. We have arrested 2,258 of them so far.” “
Sarma said the large number of arrests in the last 48 hours “has created an awareness that child marriage is illegal. Various organizations have welcomed the government’s move.”
The crackdown on child marriage led to over 200 arrests in the day in the state.
A mob of women comprising the child bride, her mother and mother-in-law and other women supporters stormed the Tamabil police station demanding the immediate release of the men. After being pushed back, they locked the compound gate from outside and blocked the road.
Similar scenes of protests by women were also seen in many other police stations of the state, but no untoward incident was reported from anywhere.
Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, “When a man marries a Baby girlit is equal rape, Have we tried to feel the pain the child is going through? Will I marry my daughter at the age of 12 or 13? A generation will have to pay for saving lakhs of girls from child marriage in the future. There’s no sympathy. This action will continue and child marriage has to be stopped in Assam.”
Assam Police IG (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar Bhuiyan said, “The incident took place at Tamabil police station where some people had come. We had to use mild means to disperse them.”
2,258 men arrested for child marriage
With Saturday’s fresh arrests, the total number of arrests has gone up to 2,258, but over a thousand others are either absconding from their homes or working outside the state.
Also, at least 70 of these arrested husbands have been released on interim bail by courts in Majuli and Tinsukia districts.
Sarma said that men marrying girls above 14 years of age have been arrested under bailable sections, but those marrying girls below 14 years have been arrested under non-bailable sections.
Sarma said that altogether 4,074 cases of child marriage have been registered where 8,134 persons (including parents of grooms and Qazis and priests) have been made accused. Sarma said, “The parents named in the FIR will not be arrested immediately. We will first send notices to them. Around 3,500 of the named accused are to be arrested and sent to the courts. We have arrested 2,258 of them so far.” “
Sarma said the large number of arrests in the last 48 hours “has created an awareness that child marriage is illegal. Various organizations have welcomed the government’s move.”