Assam Child Marriage Crackdown Intensifies: Over 550 Arrested, Dhubri Leads Raid Drive

Assam: The Assam government has drastically escalated its state-wide campaign against underage marriage, with law enforcement agencies registering 476 cases and arresting 557 individuals. The current enforcement drive marks an aggressive escalation compared to 2024 operations, which saw 432 arrests.

Dhubri district has emerged as the epicentre of the massive crackdown. Local police operations have successfully detained at least 63 individuals across nine distinct police station jurisdictions, targeting grooms, facilitating family members, and religious functionaries like qazis. Additional coordinated overnight raids spanning Sribhumi, Goalpara, Nagaon, and Bongaigaon districts led to further widespread detentions.

Even the political opposition has broadly supported the heavy-handed law enforcement framework. "If someone has engaged in child marriage, then arresting them is the right course of action," stated Wazed Ali Choudhary, Leader of the Opposition in the Assam Assembly.

Reaffirming a strict zero-tolerance approach, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma emphasized that operations will persist aggressively to protect vulnerable youth. "No one will now be able to shackle the dreams of our daughters in chains," Sarma stated on X, vowing that the state-wide police efforts will continue relentlessly until the social evil is entirely eradicated from Assam.

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