A government inquiry has denied that virginity or pregnancy tests
were conducted on 350 women, including tribals, ahead of a mass
marriage ceremony last week in Betul district of Madhya Pradesh.
The
district administration had ordered a magisterial probe into the
incident where the brides-to-be, including 90 tribals, were allegedly
subjected to the tests before the mass wedding in Harad village on June
7. The event was organised under the 'Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojana', a
programme run by the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government in the
state wherein it bears the expense of marriages of girls belonging to
poor families.
"I have received the probe report which has been
prepared by the Assistant Collector, Neha Malviya. The report says that
virginity or pregnancy test was not done on any woman on July 7 at the
mass marriage venue," Rajesh Prasad Mishra, Betul district collector,
told NDTV.
But after the incident was highlighted in media reports, a district
health worker, Durga Malviya, had admitted that 10-12 women were checked
for pregnancy and the results were subsequently shared with senior
officials present at the venue.
Action has now been recommended against Mr Malviya by the inquiry officer for issuing irresponsible statements to the media.
Health
department officials were allegedly deployed by the block panchayat to
ensure that only those women, who didn't test positive for pregnancy,
participated in the ceremony. They also allegedly wanted to ensure that
couples didn't remarry to avail the benefits that could be availed under
the scheme - newly-weds are entitled to a bicycle, utensils, gold and
silver jewellery.
Source: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/no-pregnancy-tests-on-women-before-mass-marriage-in-madhya-pradesh-says-inquiry-379760
Home »
lifestyle
,
policy
,
politics
» No pregnancy tests on women before mass marriage in Madhya Pradesh, says inquiry
No pregnancy tests on women before mass marriage in Madhya Pradesh, says inquiry
Written By Unknown on June 14, 2013 | 6/14/2013
Related Articles
- Five Things You Should Know About Disappearances
- Saudi to turn to India and Sri Lanka for maids
- Railway authorities re-number trains
- Iranian Navy dispatches 27th fleet to high seas
- Jammu and Kashmir, Adivasi belt and North East; why are India's conflict areas ignored by the middle class
- Cops will struggle to build a case against Zakir Naik, say experts