Guwahati, July 1: Assam has registered its first case under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), which came into force from Monday, in Nagaon Police Station, Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said here on Monday.

The first case is of a mobile theft and looting of Rs 7,000. It was registered by Nagaon Sadar Police Station bearing case number 650/24 under section 351(A) under BNS in the wee hours of Monday. The investigation officer is SI Ashad Ali.

The BNS is the official criminal code in India which was passed by the Parliament in December 2023 to replace the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which dates back to the period of British India.

“We are well equipped to deal with the new law. More than 500 police personnel have been trained to enforce this new law. We will also sensitize common people, police personnel, advocates and judicial officers about the new law,” Sarma said.

The chief minister said a new point is added with the new law which is fruitful for Assam. “In the last few years, we have been fighting to eliminate child marriage in the state. We had to enforce the POCSO Act against the accused as the Supreme Court passed a judgement based on Islamic law regarding child marriage cases. Now the BNS will treat all sexual relations (even consensual sex) with a girl below 18 years as rape. Therefore we will have the scope for fighting against child marriage in the state.”

“If anybody marries a girl child under any circumstance, he can’t go for sexual relationship with her under the new law and it will be equivalent to rape,” he said.

“Today is a very important day for the nation’s journey to decolonize ourselves. So, we started that journey in 1947. Today we achieved a very very important milestone. BNS will transform our criminal justice system from punitive towards justice. That’s very important,” Sarma also said.

He further said during the colonial era all three codes were designed to continue with the punitive measure by a ruler to the colonial people. But the new laws have democratized the criminal justice system. He also expressed that there is no need to reexamine the news laws, rather it is important to sensitise more and more advocates, judiciary, police.

“We have developed our own criminal justice system and I am sure that one day the nation will be proud of it,” he added.

Read: IMD issues forecast of heavy rainfall in Assam till July 5

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