11 married women elope with lovers after receiving housing scheme money in India

A strange incident has been reported from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh where 11 women are said to have duped their husbands and have run away with the money they got from the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana. The scheme is meant to help poor and lower middle-class families build permanent houses. Reports suggest that the 11 women, all married, received the first instalment of Rs 40,000 ($479) from the scheme.

They then took that money and eloped with their lovers. All the men have filed an FIR in connection with the matter.

The bizarre matter unfolded in the Maharajganj district of the state where the first instalments under the scheme were recently distributed. The case of women running away with their lovers and the money has startled officials, who have reportedly now decided to not give away the second instalment.

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Under the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Awas Yojana, financial assistance is provided to poorer families to build a house. The amount given varies depending on family income. In case officials spot any discrepancy, they can ask back for the money.

Maharajganj District Magistrate Anunay Jha said, "It has come to notice that the first instalment of the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana was misused by 11 women who did not use it for building houses. The concerned department has been directed to take legal action against the beneficiaries and recover the funds."

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How did the fraud come to light

The incident came to light when a man named Sanjay reported that his wife was missing. He further informed that they had recently received Rs 40,000 under the scheme.

Block Development Officer then conducted a probe into the matter after which it was revealed that Suniya, Sanjay's wife,had run away with someone and had also taken the Rs 40,000 instalment.

Soon after, 10 more similar cases came to light.

Suniya's father-in-law has requested the government to send the remaining two instalments to his son's account.

"The money was sent to our daughter-in-law's account, and we later found out she had run away with a boy. We demand the government send the money to my son's account," he said.

Such incidents of women duping officials and their husbands are not news. Earlier, in Barabanki, four women ran away with their lovers after receiving Rs 50,000 ($599) from the scheme.

(With inputs from agencies)