There was a knock at the door at around 2 pm...': Assam's child bride recounts the reprimand; Many women protested

Police had registered 4,074 cases of child marriage in less than a fortnight after the state cabinet on January 23 decided to arrest the perpetrators. Authorities have arrested 2,258 people, including Hindu and Muslim priests, for conducting such marriages till Saturday.

Earlier this week, the Assam police cracked down on child marriage, arresting thousands of people. Now, even as many women stage protests demanding the release of their husbands and sons, others recall the action in horror.

"There was a knock at the door around 2 am on Thursday. We opened the door and found policemen outside. They took my husband away," Nimi told news agency PTI.

The 17-year-old had tied the knot with Gopal Biswas (who is in his twenties) more than a year ago. Both have a one and a half month old son, the husband supports them by selling pakoras and other snacks.

Gopal's elder brother, Yudhishthira, who lives in the same, said, "We can barely make ends meet for our family. Who will take care of Nimi and her son? She is very sad, barely eating anything." The child is also getting sick now." home with his aged parents.

“My daughter-in-law is not young, but there was some error in her Aadhaar card due to which my son is now behind bars,” claimed Regina. She went to her place of birth, some distance away, to collect the records of his birth. Is." , trying to persuade anyone who cares to listen.

A neighbor of the family claimed that many, like Rajibul's wife, were not actually minors at the time of the marriage, but had entered their date of birth wrong while enrolling for an Aadhaar card.

Protests erupted in Assam this week after over 2,258 people were arrested in a crackdown against child marriage. In front of the Tamarhat police station in Dhubri district, a large number of women were demanding the release of their husbands and sons from police custody. The security personnel were forced to lathi charge the agitators when they tried to break the gate and security barrier of the police station.

Police had registered 4,074 cases of child marriage in less than a fortnight after the state cabinet on January 23 decided to arrest the perpetrators.