Monday, May 16 2005 14:42 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Under attack for his remarks on the issue, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Babulal Gaur today (May 16, 2005) said his Government will provide life-long assistance to the anganwadi worker who was assaulted possibly for inquiring about child marriages even as he came out in defence of a State Minister reported to have attended under-age marriages.

"It is a sad incident and the Government has taken it very seriously. The Government has given the woman Rs one lakh as compensation, is bearing the entire expense of her treatment and will provide her with whatever help she needs life long," Gaur told reporters in New Delhi today.

The Chief Minister, however, said that it was still not known whether the attack on Shakuntala Devi, in which she received severe injuries on both her hands, was related to her inquiries about child marriage in the area.

Both hands of the woman, admitted in a hospital in Indore, have been re-attached, he said.

"No child marriage was reported in the area where the woman was working," Gaur said. About the arrest made in the case last night, he said the alleged assaulter was a known criminal who was involved in several other cases. "However, it remains to be probed whether the attack had anything to do with child marriage," he said.

Staunchly defending State Minister Narain Singh Khushwaha, who is reported to have attended a child marriage, Gaur said, "We have not received any complaint against him so far. We will probe if we receive any complaints."

He further said that no Minister would knowingly attend a child marriage ceremony. "It could have been a case of a mass marriage where some persons were under-age," the Chief Minister said.