Hospitals in Assam have started to gather lists of underage pregnancy, and district health authorities have advised the police to look for households with child marriages.
Health officials claim that the state government has ordered all hospitals to contact the police whenever a person under the age of 18 registers for a pregnancy test. Sources claim that this strategy will help in the arrest of those connected to child marriage in the state.
According to Dr. Kandarpa Das, the joint director of health services, special care will be taken for underage pregnancy as advised by the administration. However, the National Health Mission has directed that any such case be reported to the police, he added.
The concerned health authorities in Goalpara, Assam, are keeping watch on parents who go to hospitals to pick up birth certificates. Kandarpa Das adds that since the campaign against child marriage was started, there have been no incidents of underage pregnancies reported to hospitals. He said that it might be because of legal concerns.
However, according to Das, during labour, the women must be taken to hospitals for their own safety. Notably, more than 2,500 persons have been detained in connection with child marriage over the course of the last week.
Teenage women may be spotted waiting in line for pregnancy tests in hospitals prior to the crackdown. On the other side, Prashanta Bhuyan of the Assam Police reported that there was no room for any additional arrestees because the custody facilities in various Assam districts were already full.
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