Raj govt starts probe into appearance of Pak girl in its advt

Rajasthan government today launched a probe into media reports which claimed that a missing Pakistani girl's pictures were used to advertise one of its flagship schemes in hoardings and in an official magazine.

Based on a report appeared in a vernacular daily, the Department of Women Empowerment came to know about a picture, appearing on the state government's hoarding and 'Sujas' magazine, was that of a "missing or abducted girl" from Pakistan, its Director Rekha Gupta said.

"DWE is checking its records and trying to trace the origin of the girl's picture, whether it is from Internet or any other source," the director said.

Meanwhile, 'Sujas' magazine Editor-in-Chief and Director of Information and Public Relations (DIPR) Loknath Soni said, "DIPR received picture of the girl from Women and Child Development and published it in Sujas' May 2013 issue".

DIPR was also tracing picture's origin and source through various departments, Soni said.

The vernacular daily claimed that the girl went missing from Pakistan three years ago and her pictures were used in state government's hoarding and other material as 'betiyan anmol hain' and in May issue of 'Sujas'.