GUWAHATI: Assam Police has prepared charge sheets against more than 8,000 persons in child marriage and Pocso cases in the state since 2017, but only about 500 have been convicted so far.
In a written reply to a question from Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal in the assembly on Monday, chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who also holds the home portfolio, said 6,174 persons have been released on bail to date.
Sarma further informed the house that 4,049 persons have been arrested under the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act of 2006, while 8,908 persons have been nabbed under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) Act across the state from 2017 to February this year.
Sarma's reply revealed that 134 underage boys and 2,975 underage girls were married during this period. The legally permissible age for marriage is 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls.
To a separate query by independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, the chief minister said 4,111 child marriages took place in the state between April 2021 and February 2023.
During this period of 22 months, altogether 4,670 cases of child marriage have been registered in which 7,142 have been named as accused. Out of these, 3,483 persons have been arrested. Among those arrested, 1,182 are in jail and 2,253 have been granted bail.
Sarma also informed the legislators that the government has not taken any step to take responsibility for the children born out of child marriages, but said steps will be initiated if any child requires care and security.
Later in the day during a debate on the motion of thanks on the governor's address, leader of the opposition, Debabrata Saikia, said slapping of Pocso and rape cases on child marriage accused have created disturbances in society with many old people getting arrested.
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Read MorePrabin Kalita is a journalist at The Times of India and is currently the Chief of Bureau (northeast). He has been reporting in mainstream Indian national media since 2001. He has been a field journalist reporting gamut of issues from India’s northeastern region and major developments in neighbouring countries like Myanmar, China, Bhutan and Bangladesh concerning India and northeastern region. He has been covering insurgency—internal and cross-border, politics, natural calamities, environment etc. He is a post-graduate in Geological Sciences from Gauhati University.
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