Protests, suicide, CM’s appeal, mark Assam’s 4th day of crackdown on child marriages

Guwahati :  Amid protests in many parts of Assam and a teenager’s suicide, the number of those arrested in the state-wide crackdown on child marriages went up to 2,442, forcing Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma to come up with a justification for the drive.

Opposition parties also lashed out at the BJP-led government, terming the arrests of teenage husbands and family members as “abuse of law” for political gain and equating the police action with “terrorising people”.

A 17-year-old girl allegedly died by suicide in Assam’s Cachar district after her family prevented her from going ahead with wedding plans with her lover, police said on Monday.