Assam: Private hospital in Bongaigaon accused of falsifying health card in child marriage case

As Assam's Chief Minister takes a firm stance against child marriage in the state, a disturbing revelation has emerged, suggesting that certain private hospitals in Assam are aiding and abetting child marriages, defying the government's stringent measures.

In a startling expose captured on a journalist's hidden camera, a private hospital in Bongaigaon is alleged to have issued a health card falsely indicating the age of a 16-year-old pregnant girl as 20 years, all for financial gain.

This alarming revelation unfolded in Chhatipur, under the jurisdiction of the Kajalgaon police station in Chirang district. In 2022, a 15-year-old girl was married off to a 20-year-old man in Bartalawa, Dhaligaon. Presently, the teenager is three months pregnant. However, instead of receiving medical care at a government hospital, the families involved in the child marriage have taken her to the Lower Assam Hospital and Research Centre in Bongaigaon, where her age is allegedly misrepresented as 20 years, rather than her actual age of 16.

Despite the known incident of child marriage in Dhaligaon, which is merely a few hundred meters to a kilometer away from the Kajalgaon police station, the local police have yet to make any arrests.