Guwahati, Feb 28, 2023, IANS

Guwahati, Feb 28 (IANS): Despite heavy criticism on the police crackdown on child marriages in Assam, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Tuesday that not a single instance of a child marriage had occurred in the state in the previous month due to government's action.

On February 3, the Assam government launched a ferocious campaign against child marriages throughout the state, registering over 4,000 cases. As many as 3,145 people had been detained as of Tuesday.

"In Assam, not a single child marriage has occurred in the past month. A significant accomplishment, this. Everyone has praised our efforts to combat this social threat," Sarma remarked during a Press conference in the city.

He claimed that out of all those detained, the courts had granted bail to about 900 people.

"Initially I thought they would be let out of the jails in seven to eight days. But after 14-15 days, the majority of them got bail. The judiciary also praised our action, according to Sarma.

The Gauhati High Court stated on February 14 that there was no need for custodial interrogation of the accused in such circumstances, noting that the widespread arrests made as part of the campaign against child marriage caused "havoc in the private lives of people."