Dismisses charges of virginity tests as media hype

Brushing aside worldwide criticism over reports that a group of brides-to-be were made to undergo virginity and pregnancy tests ahead of a government-sponsored mass wedding programme in Betul, Madhya Pradesh, District Collector Rajesh Prasad Misra says, That was nothing but media hype. We have completed an investigation and the report says no such tests were conducted.

This was a pet social-welfare scheme of state Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. On June 7, over 400 women who were being married off at government expense were subjected to virginity and pregnancy tests to weed out girls ineligible to receive the wedding gifts of Rs 15,000 and items like bicycles, utensils, clothing and a mangalsutra.

Misra told Business Standard, A probationary Indian Administrative Service officer, Neha Markhya, was asked to investigate the allegations. Her report is clear no official present on the occasion ordered the tests nor were they carried out on any bride-to-be there. Local media people had pointed out that a few married women were participating in the ceremony, so all that I did was to ask my officials to remain vigilant. Thats it.

The state government has washed its hand of the matter. When Business Standard got its hand on Markhyas report, it found that the IAS probationer had actually recommended disciplinary action against the chief executive officer of Chicholi Janpad Panchayat for irregularities, related not to the virginity tests but to the purchase of gifts and other items. Markhya also recommended similar action against a woman worker present on the occasion for giving irresponsible comments to the media.

Misra is a state administrative officer who was promoted to the IAS in 1998. His first brush with controversy came when he was the state protocol officer. Suspicious about the hugely inflated expenses recorded by Misra, a journalist, Rajendra Agal, filed a Right to Information application in April 2006, demanding to see the departments cashbooks for the period 2001-2006. The information officer in the state protocol office was evasive and some time later declared that the cashbooks of the demanded period had been found missing. A complaint of theft was lodged in a local police station against unidentified persons. The economic offences wing of the state police conducted a probe into the matter. The final report exonerated Misra for lack of evidence.

A womens body, the Narmada Mahila Sangh, alleges that Misra is too casual when it comes to women-related matters. The Sangh takes up cases of violence, alcoholism and crimes against women. When we requested Misra to arrange a female authority to hear the victims of a trafficking case, he ignored us, says a Sangh executive. Tribal women are embarrassed to disclose facts before male officers, so we had requested him to depute a woman to hear them, she explains. When asked to respond to the charge that he is not serious about trafficking and crimes against women, Misra says, Women alleged to be victims of trafficking usually turn hostile in court to protect their families. And then he adds, Yet I am looking into each incident of crime against women brought to my notice. I have even initiated probes in some cases.