Fact Check | Dozens of unmarried women did not get pregnant in Varanasi; it was due to a clerical error

A social media post bearing the ABP News logo is circulating widely, claiming that more than 35 unmarried women in a village in Uttar Pradesh have become pregnant. Let’s examine the validity of this claim.

A social media post (here, here and here) bearing the ABP News logo is circulating widely, claiming that more than 35 unmarried women in a village in Uttar Pradesh have become pregnant. Let’s examine the validity of this claim.

The archived post can be seen here.

An internet search using relevant keywords led us to news reports by ABP News and other media outlets (here, here and here) covering this issue. According to these reports, the incident occurred in Ramna village, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. During the 2024 Diwali festival, over 35 unmarried women from the village received text messages stating they were registered as pregnant mothers under the Ministry of Women and Child Development’s nutrition tracker program.

These messages, implying that the recipients were eligible for maternal health and nutrition services, alarmed the women and their families. They escalated the matter to the Chief Development Officer (CDO) of Varanasi. Addressing the issue, CDO Himanshu Nagpal acknowledged an error that led to the registration of unmarried teenage girls as pregnant. He explained that a local Anganwadi worker, Asha, who also serves as a Booth Level Officer (BLO) for voter registration, mistakenly mixed up forms for voter registration and the nutrition tracker program.

Following complaints, the registration errors were corrected, and the inaccurate data was removed from the portal. Initial investigations confirmed that no nutritional aid or benefits were distributed under these mistaken registrations. FACTLY contacted DK Singh, the District Programme Officer (DPO) of the Child Development and Nutrition Department in Varanasi, regarding this matter. He stated that the concerned Anganwadi worker’s salary was stopped for a month and that strict measures would be enforced if such mistakes were repeated in the future.

To sum up, the claim about 35 unmarried women becoming pregnant in Varanasi is incorrect. The issue was due to a clerical error, and officials have since rectified the data.

Claim: More than 35 unmarried women in a village in Uttar Pradesh have become pregnant.

Fact: In October 2024, over 35 unmarried women in Ramna village, Varanasi, were mistakenly registered as pregnant in a government nutrition program due to a form mix-up by a local Anganwadi worker. Authorities have corrected the error and issued notices to concerned Anganwadi worker. Therefore, the claim in the post is FALSE.

This story was originally published by Factly, and republished by Deccan Herald as part of the Shakti Collective.