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<p>A massive wedding scam was unearthed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to media reports on Sunday (Feb 4). In Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, more than 200 couples allegedly took part in fake marriages to receive benefits from the state government's Mass Marriage Scheme. Citing officials, a report by India Today said that 568 couples were believed to have been wedded at the event.</p>

<p>However, investigations later uncovered that more than 200 couples were paid to act as brides and grooms. This event took place on Jan 25. Speaking to India Today, a participant, aged 19, said he was offered $24 (Rs 2,000) to sit at the event. But the man said he was not paid.&nbsp;</p>

<h2><strong>Brides garland themselves</strong></h2>

<p>A video of the event has gone viral on social media. The video showed several brides garlanding themselves while some grooms were covering up their faces as they sat down for marriage ceremonies.</p>

<h3><strong>Here's a look at the video:</strong></h3>

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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p dir="ltr" lang="en">Marriage without a groom in the Ballia district of UP -<br />
<br />
January 25, 568 couples married under the CM Group Marriage Scheme. A large number of brides were garlanded without the groom.<br />
Many had been married many years ago.<br />
Some were even siblings.<br />
<br />
All this happened to posing as… <a href="https://t.co/lHvzuvEQLS">pic.twitter.com/lHvzuvEQLS</a></p>
— ShoneeKapoor (@ShoneeKapoor) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShoneeKapoor/status/1752930972436213840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 1, 2024</a></blockquote>
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<p>On Jan 29, a probe committee was formed to investigate the matter.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A report by the news agency PTI on Thursday said that many of the participants (fake actors) in the event were already married. Archana, a beneficiary of the state government's mass marriage scheme, was married in June last year. Apart from this, Ranjana Yadav and Suman Chauhan got married in March 2023, Priyanka got married in November 2023, Pooja got married a year ago, Sanju got married three years ago and Ramita got married in July 2023, the report said.</p>

<p>The probe committee said all of them were not eligible for the scheme. Ineligible applicants had applied illegally to get benefits under the scheme by hiding the facts, the committee added.</p>

<p>The PTI report further said that the Social Welfare department’s assistant development officer was negligent in examining the applications that led to this fraud.</p>

<h2><strong>15 arrested including govt officials</strong></h2>

<p>Around 15 people were arrested in this scandal including state government officials. Ballia District Magistrate (DM) Ravindra Kumar said on Thursday, "Two assistant development officers — Sunil Kumar Yadav and Bhanu Pratap of the Social Welfare department — have been arrested along with Ravindra Gupta, Alok Srivastav, Upendra Yadav, Deepak Chauhan, Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Ramji Chauhan, Santosh Yadav, Arjun Verma, Ramnath, Acchelal Verma, Dharmendra Yadav, Gulab Yadav and Sarabjeet Singh of the Social Welfare department."</p>

<p>Kumar said that among the arrested, Sunil Kumar Yadav was mentioned in the case registered and the names of 14 others have come to light during the investigation. Yadav has been suspended.</p>

<p>“Whether those involved in corruption in the matter are officers, employees, or anyone else, no one will be spared and strict action will be taken against them. Such action will be taken against those involved in corruption in the Mass Marriage Scheme that it will become an example for Ballia district,” Kumar told PTI.</p>

<h2><strong>The mass marriage scheme</strong></h2>

<p>The scheme was introduced by the Yogi Adityanath government in Oct 2017. "Under this scheme wedding programs are conducted according to the rituals practiced in various communities and religions. Another objective of the scheme is to abolish the unwanted and extravagance in wedding ceremonies," the social welfare department's website said.</p>

<p>The scheme also covers the re-marriage of widows, abandoned and divorced women.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A payment of $614 is made of which $421 goes to the woman, around $120 for purchasing matrimonial materials, and $73 for the event.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


A massive wedding scam was unearthed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to media reports on Sunday (Feb 4). In Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, more than 200 couples allegedly took part in fake marriages to receive benefits from the state government's Mass Marriage Scheme.

A massive wedding scam was unearthed in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to media reports on Sunday (Feb 4). In Uttar Pradesh's Ballia district, more than 200 couples allegedly took part in fake marriages to receive benefits from the state government's Mass Marriage Scheme. Citing officials, a report by India Today said that 568 couples were believed to have been wedded at the event. However, investigations later uncovered that more than 200 couples were paid to act as brides and grooms. This event took place on Jan 25. Speaking to India Today, a participant, aged 19, said he was offered $24 (Rs 2,000) to sit at the event. But the man said he was not paid. Brides garland themselves A video of the event has gone viral on social media. The video showed several brides garlanding themselves while some grooms were covering up their faces as they sat down for marriage ceremonies. Here's a look at the video: Marriage without a groom in the Ballia district of UP - January 25, 568 couples married under the CM Group Marriage Scheme. A large number of brides were garlanded without the groom. Many had been married many years ago. Some were even siblings. All this happened to posing as… pic.twitter.com/lHvzuvEQLS — ShoneeKapoor (@ShoneeKapoor) February 1, 2024 × On Jan 29, a probe committee was formed to investigate the matter. A report by the news agency PTI on Thursday said that many of the participants (fake actors) in the event were already married. Archana, a beneficiary of the state government's mass marriage scheme, was married in June last year. Apart from this, Ranjana Yadav and Suman Chauhan got married in March 2023, Priyanka got married in November 2023, Pooja got married a year ago, Sanju got married three years ago and Ramita got married in July 2023, the report said. The probe committee said all of them were not eligible for the scheme. Ineligible applicants had applied illegally to get benefits under the scheme by hiding the facts, the committee added. The PTI report further said that the Social Welfare department’s assistant development officer was negligent in examining the applications that led to this fraud. 15 arrested including govt officials Around 15 people were arrested in this scandal including state government officials. Ballia District Magistrate (DM) Ravindra Kumar said on Thursday, "Two assistant development officers — Sunil Kumar Yadav and Bhanu Pratap of the Social Welfare department — have been arrested along with Ravindra Gupta, Alok Srivastav, Upendra Yadav, Deepak Chauhan, Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Ramji Chauhan, Santosh Yadav, Arjun Verma, Ramnath, Acchelal Verma, Dharmendra Yadav, Gulab Yadav and Sarabjeet Singh of the Social Welfare department." Kumar said that among the arrested, Sunil Kumar Yadav was mentioned in the case registered and the names of 14 others have come to light during the investigation. Yadav has been suspended. “Whether those involved in corruption in the matter are officers, employees, or anyone else, no one will be spared and strict action will be taken against them. Such action will be taken against those involved in corruption in the Mass Marriage Scheme that it will become an example for Ballia district,” Kumar told PTI. The mass marriage scheme The scheme was introduced by the Yogi Adityanath government in Oct 2017. "Under this scheme wedding programs are conducted according to the rituals practiced in various communities and religions. Another objective of the scheme is to abolish the unwanted and extravagance in wedding ceremonies," the social welfare department's website said. The scheme also covers the re-marriage of widows, abandoned and divorced women. A payment of $614 is made of which $421 goes to the woman, around $120 for purchasing matrimonial materials, and $73 for the event. (With inputs from agencies)

Massive wedding fraud in India’s UP: Brides garland themselves, 200+ fake marriages held. Here’s what happened

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Massive wedding fraud in India’s UP: Brides garland themselves, 200+ fake marriages held. Here’s what happened