The Women and Child Development Ministry has sought a CBI probe after an estimated two lakh people from five states were reportedly duped in the name of the Centre's 'Beti Bachao Beti Padhao' (BBBP) scheme.
According to a senior official, the move comes after the ministry received over 2 lakh "fake" forms filled by people seeking cash benefit under the BBBP scheme.
"There is no provision for cash benefit under the programme. These people were made to pay for these illegal forms, disclose personal details and misled into believing they could claim a monetary benefit," an official statement said today.
"Keeping in view the public interest and gravity of the matter, the case has now been referred to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for probe into the matter," it said.
The five states where these forms were sold are Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Bihar. Earlier, the ministry had also taken up the matter with the governments of these states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's pet project, BBBP, was launched to combat poor child sex ratio and aims to celebrate the birth of girl child and prevent female foeticide.
It is being implemented in 100 selected districts through a national campaign as well as steps being taken to ensure survival, protection and education of the girl child.
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