The Assam cabinet on Monday decided to book men who marry girls below 14 years in the state under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
As the police said they have a list of 8,000 accused and the drive will continue, women protested against the move in various districts saying they will face problems without livelihoods.
The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) on Tuesday turned violent with government officials and mediapersons attacked leading to imposition of indefinite curfew in some areas.
The 12-hour Assam bandh called by the All Assam Minority Students' Union (AAMSU) on Tuesday turned violent with government officials and mediapersons attacked leading to imposition of indefinite curfew in some areas.
Frequently under attack from various elements while discharging their duty in the troubled state, Assam journalists have called upon the government and all the political parties to take steps to enact a special law for protection of media persons on duty. It was decided at a meeting of various journalists unions at the Guwahati Press Club.
Relief camps in Assam's Kokrajhar and Barpeta districts have 4,615 new refugees, while 376 have left for home in Chirang district since Sunday. In Kokrajhar, 4,587 people have sought refuge where 60,252 are housed in 50 camps while in Chirang, there are 31,442 refugees in 24 camps, official sources said on Monday.
At least four persons were killed and over 50 injured when police opened fire to control a mob of protestors led by All Assam Minority Students' Union that went on a rampage in Barpeta town and inside the deputy commissioner's office beating people, damaging and burning down vehicles on Wednesday.
Several organisations, including the All Assam Tai Ahom Students Union, the Hindu Yuva Chatra Parished and the All Assam Motok Yuva Chatra Sanmilani have opposed today's day-long bandh.\n
No untoward incident has been reported so far in the bandh called by the All Minority Organisations Coordination Committee, which includes the All Assam Minority Students Union (AAMSU) and the Jamiat-e-Ulema among others, that began at 5 am on Friday, a police officer said.
Forced to cross the Nanoi, a channel of the Brahmaputra, over 7,000 people uprooted from their homes and farms in Darrang district of Assam now use the stream's muddy water to drink and cook and defecate in the open as `Swachh Bharat' toilets built in their villages are now guarded by policemen who do not allow them to re-enter any part of the lands they have been thrown out of.
Sarma said his government had prepared a dossier on PFI and would be taking action against the outfit in the state.
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