Assam’s child marriage conviction rate: 494 out of 8,773 charge-sheeted

Guwahati : A mere 494 persons out of 8,773 people who were charge-sheeted for child marriage and POCSO cases in Assam have been convicted since 2017, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.
Replying to a query by Congress MLA Abdur Rashid Mandal in Assam Assembly, Sarma said a total of 8,773 people have been chargesheeted under Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 (PCMA) and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO) between 2017 and February 2023.
“A total of 494 persons were convicted and a total of 6,174 persons released on bail,” he added. This represents a a conviction rate of just 5.63 per cent.
Sarma informed the House that 4,049 persons were arrested under the PCMA and 8,908 people have been nabbed under the POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) across Assam from 2017 to February this year.
During the period, 134 boys under the age of 21 years, and 2,975 girls below 18-years of age married (the permissible age of marriage for males and females respectively), he added.
Also Read Govt seeks Parliament’s approval for spending Rs 1.48L crore for remaining period of 2022-23 Reacting to the data and on the recent crackdown against child marriage accused, Mandal alleged that the Assam government is “terrorising” people using the two acts.