Deoria girls forced to marry disabled men

DEORIA: UP police have found that nine girls from the Deoria shelter home were forced into marriages with older, disabled men, and that funds from the UP chief minister’s mass marriage scheme were used for the weddings between 2017 and 2018.

UP police formed a special investigation team after the Allahabad high court took suo motu cognisance of the sexual exploitation, corporal punishment, torture and abuse of female inmates of a shelter home in Deoria. The abuse came to light on August 5 when an 11-year-old inmate escaped and went to the police. Deoria police held a press conference on August 5 this year and exposed the crimes.

The SIT has found that Girija Tripathi, owner of the Maa Vindyavasini Mahila and Balika Sanrakshan Griha shelter home, forced nine girls into marriage. The SIT examined all nine marriages and found that they took place under the UP government’s flagship CM’s mass marriage scheme.

Government's mass marriage plan misused, funds looted

TOI has accessed the details of the SIT chargesheet that mentions that all nine marriages took place under the UP government’s flagship CM’s mass marriage scheme. The chargesheet was submitted to the Allahabad high court.

According to it, one girl was married to an older, physically challenged man against her wishes. Another was married to a blind man whose parents had allegedly paid a huge sum to Girija Tripathi.

The SIT has also found that Tripathi took Rs 5,000 of the Rs 35,000 subsidy per marriage that was part of the CM’s mass marriage scheme, a government initiative under the women and child welfare department. Of the Rs 35,000, another Rs 10,000 meant for utensils and sundries for the girls were never provided, the SIT has found.

The probe has also detected that at least three girls from Bihar were married under the scheme in violation of state laws. “Only eligible unmarried females from UP are covered under the scheme,” said a police officer. The SIT has also found that two of the nine girls were already married.

Besides human trafficking, forgery and criminal conspiracy, the SIT has charged Tripathi with criminal breach of trust and siphoning state funds.