Two days after News World India’s investigative report shed light on the ill-treatment meted out to widows in Vrindavan, the administration has seemed to pull up its socks. A 7-member probe team was formed on Wednesday which will submit its report to the state authorities in 3 days time.
The probe team comprises Ram Babu Sharma, Ashok Sharma, Vinesh Sonwal, Poonam Yogiraj, Yogesh Yogiraj, Tajender Kumar and Lokesh Soni.
Soon after the report was aired on News World India, Permanent Secretary of Social Services, Pawan Kumar Srivastav moved into action and passed on the report to the DM and CMO.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Minister for Women and Child Development, Maneka Gandhi had laid the foundation stone of a 1,000-bedded state-of-the-art widow home at Vrindavan aimed at providing better living condition, vocational training and medical facilities to such women, News World India discovered an even darker truth.
During the exclusive investigation by the team of News World India, it was revealed that these women, who still face stigma as widows, are not only being ill-treated but also harassed both mentally and sexually by those who are supposed to be taking care of them. Though the state and Central Government have provided many such widow housing, there is a certain lack of care and review of this scheme and the widows living in them.
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Taking cognizance of this matter, the Permanent Secratary of Social Services, Pawan Kumar Srivastav issued a letter to concerned state authorities seeking an investigation.
In the letter he said, these widowed women face harassment, death threats, and usurpation of their rations. He also shed light on those women who have passed away but their names are still listed in the register with their rations being used for other services, thereby corrupting the scheme.
Watch full investigative report: