One person has been sentenced to 25 years of imprisonment for allegedly forcibly marrying a minor girl in Assam’s Hailakandi district.

A special court in Hailakandi sentenced the man identified as Bijoy Bin to 25 years rigorous imprisonment on Saturday.

According to sources, Bijoy allegedly abducted and forcibly married the 13-year-old girl in January last year. The police said that a case was registered against him on January 18, 2022. The case number 11/2022 was registered by the police under section 366 of the Indian Penal Code.

The man was arrested under section 9 of the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act and section 4 of Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and sent to custody. Rebortedly, he later got bail after passing five months and 13 days in jail.

However, considering the victim’s family members’ appeal, the court decided to hear the case on a fast-track process. Special judge Sanjoy Hazarika sentenced Bijoy to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment under section 4 of POCSO Act. He also received five years of rigorous imprisonment with a total of 25 years in jail.

On the other hand, the court has advised him to pay Rs 10,000 each in both cases.