india

Updated: Oct 07, 2018 20:29 IST

A woman in Assam’s Dhubri district was beaten up and partially stripped by an angry mob which also tonsured her and poured hot water on her for opposing the marriage of her underage son to a minor girl.

Rashima Bibi, 39, was attacked on October 2 at Boterhat village, but police swung into action four days later on Saturday after a video of the incident was widely shared.

According to police, the victim’s 19-year-old son from her second marriage was forcibly married off to a minor girl a few months ago by her second husband Mantu Sheikh despite her opposition. The legal age of marriage for a man in India is 21 years.

“Sheikh and family members of the girl’s family were unhappy with Bibi as she had registered a case in this regard in August and the some of the accused were arrested,” said Dhubri superintendant of police Longnit Terong.

“Several members of the girl’s family including some women cornered Bibi on October 2 and tonsured her head. Some of her clothes were also removed and hot water poured on her,” he added.

In the video, few women are seen beating Bibi, pulling at her clothes and tonsuring her head in broad daylight on a road while several bystanders are recording the assault on their phones.

Based on a complaint by the victim’s third husband Moinul Haque, the police have arrested three women involved in the incident and are on the lookout for several others.

Police said both Rashima Bibi’s son and his wife have since been separated and are living with their parents. Bibi is admitted at a hospital at Cooch Behar in West Bengal for treatment.

Child marriages have witnessed a spurt in Assam in recent years. The government told the state assembly last month that there have been 317 incidents of child marriages in 2017-18 compared to from 96 in 2016-17 and 32 in 2015-16.

According to a report on child marriages and teenage pregnancy in India released recently by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, Assam with 16.7% of child marriages is among the 12 states in India with higher than the national average of 11.9%.

Nine districts in Assam are ranked among the top 100 districts in the country with high incidents of child marriages. Dhubri ranks 17 in the list.