Responding to a report by news agency ANI that claimed that as many as 1,793 people involved in child marriages in the state of Assam have been apprehended, actor Rayya Labib who hails from Assam said the problem of child marriages is rampant in the state.
Rayya, who is of Turkish-Iranian origin but was born and brought up in the North-Eastern state, said young girls as young as 12 years are married off in religious ceremonies in the State and the problem is very much prevalent even in urban areas of the state.
While speaking to ANI, Prasanta Kumar Bhuyan, Inspector General of Police (IGP) (L&O) and spokesperson of the Assam police was quoted as saying, “Till Friday morning, 1,793 persons have been arrested by police across the state.”
“Out of these, 131 persons have been arrested in Biswanath. The number of arrested persons’ figure might increase. Operations are still on,” Prasanta Kumar Kumar Bhuyan added. The state-wide crackdown against child marriage was launched on Thursday night, following the directions of Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma.
The Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday night had chaired a video-conference meeting with senior officials of the police department, including Superintendents of Police of all districts, regarding the police actions that would be launched state-wide from today onwards against the practice of child marriage in the state.
The Chief Minister has appealed to the people to support the government’s action to rid the state of the evil practice of child marriage.
Supporting the campaign, Rayya Labib too called upon all Assamese people to report child marriages in their localities and rid Assam of this curse.