Guwahati: The Assam Police said it has apprehended 235 more people for marrying minor girls, taking the total number of arrests so far to over 2,750. A total of 2,763 people have been arrested in 4,135 FIRs registered in the state so far, the Assam Police said in a statement. Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma tweeted that our action against child marriage continues, the campaign against this social evil will continue. We seek the support of the people of Assam in our fight against this social crime. Meanwhile, police said a pregnant woman died at a hospital during delivery in Bongaigaon on Sunday. The woman got married last year and was a minor at the time. Her husband and father-in-law have been arrested in this case.
Amid a crackdown on child marriage in the state, the Assam government has constituted a cabinet sub-committee to finalise the rehabilitation policy for child marriage within 15 days.The decision was taken during a cabinet meeting chaired by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on February 9. Today, the Assam Cabinet appreciated the Assam Police for its campaign against child marriage and directed it to continue to clamp down further. The cabinet also constituted a cabinet sub-committee to finalise the rehabilitation policy within 15 days for victims of child marriage.
The Cabinet Sub-Committee has been entrusted with the responsibility of finding solutions, formulas or packages for the aggrieved girls who had suffered the negative effects of child marriage. In addition, the cabinet also took some other measures and decisions, and one of them was the construction of 10 new district hospitals with a World Bank loan. The process of receiving funds from the World Bank has been completed. Mahanta said 25 other rural hospitals in the state will be renovated. According to Mahanta, the cabinet has decided to earmark Rs 150 crore for the ongoing construction works of seven cancer care hospitals.
