Bhopal: At a mass wedding in Madhya Pradesh just before the ceremony was to begin, a would-be bride developed labour pains, shocking those present.
Virginity and pregnancy tests were ordered on the 152 prospective brides, of whom 14 were detected to be pregnant.
The incident, that left activists and tribals fuming, occurred on June 30 when the brides were assembled for a mass marriage function in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district held under the 'Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna' - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's pet scheme aimed to help girls from poor families tie the knot at government expense.
Marriages under the scheme are solemnised free of cost and all arrangements are made by the district administration. Every couple is also provided assistance in the form of household items to the tune of Rs5,000 (Dh400).
On that day, a would-be bride developed labour pains minutes before the exchange of garlands. The organisers immediately stopped the wedding and ordered pregnancy tests.
The tests revealed 14 of them were pregnant.
"As many as 14 girls were detected to be pregnant during the tests while another girl was found to be a minor," Shahdol district hospital's senior gynaecologist Reena Gautam said.
A local resident alleged that "fake marriages" were being held. He said: "Middlemen produce recently married couples as unmarried, get their marriage solemnised at such functions and then take 'commission' from them."
Faced with allegations of solemnising 'fake marriages', the local authorities ordered the virginity and pregnancy tests. But the move to weed out already-married brides has kicked up a storm with activists taking up the issue.
"First I refused to undergo the test but an officer told me that I would be allowed inside the 'mandap' [place where Hindu marriages are solemnised] only after I am found eligible," a 20-year-old woman told activists who toured the area after the incident.
Sachin Jain of the Right to Food campaign working for the cause of tribals in many parts of the state told IANS: "There are better and more discreet ways of doing this.
"These tests are an insult to womanhood and it shows how the state machinery violates the human rights and dignity and privacy of women."
"The officials should know that in many tribal communities there is a culture of boys and girls living together before they decide to marry," Jain said.
Amita Chapra, member of the State Women Commission, said: Even if assuming that some are misusing the scheme, it does not mean that others can be subjected to humiliation." Chapra said that the commission would take up the matter with the chief minister.
Shahdol collector Neeraj Debe said: "I have asked my subordinates and district medical authorities to look into reported incidents of virginity and pregnancy tests and action will be taken against those found guilty."
