Bhopal, July 13 - At a mass wedding in Madhya Pradesh just before the ceremony was to begin, a would-be bride developed labour pains, shocking those present. Virginity and pregnancy tests were ordered on the 152 prospective brides, of whom 14 were detected to be pregnant.

The incident, that left activists and tribals fuming, occurred June 30 when the brides were assembled for a mass marriage function in Madhya Pradesh's Shahdol district, 350 km from here, held under the 'Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna' - Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan's pet scheme aimed to help girls from poor families tie the knot at government expense.

Marriages under the scheme are solemnised free of cost and all arrangements are made by the district administration. Every couple is also provided assistance in the form of household items to the tune of Rs.5,000.

On that day, a would-be bride developed labour pains minutes before the exchange of garlands. The organisers immediately stopped the mass wedding and ordered pregnancy tests on the 152 brides assembled for the ceremony.

The tests revealed 14 of them were pregnant.

'As many as 14 girls were detected to be pregnant during the tests while another girl was found to be a minor,' Shahdol district hospital's senior gynaecologist Reena Gautam told IANS over phone.

Later, 138 couples belonging to different religions tied the knot under the scheme.

Local legislator Sunder Singh, the district collector and other government officials were also present during the occasion, sources said.

A local resident alleged that 'fake marriages' were being held. He said: 'Middlemen produce recently married couples as unmarried, get their marriage solemnised at such functions and then take 'commission' from them.'

Faced with allegations of solemnising 'fake marriages', the local authorities ordered the virginity and pregnancy tests. But the move to weed out already-married brides has kicked up a storm with activists taking up the issue.