Kota (Raj), Jan 18 (PTI) Amid the showering of flower petals and chanting of vedic mantras, three women -- two of them deaf and mute -- raised in shelter homes tied the knot in a grand ceremony here on Thursday.

Lok Sabha Speaker and Kota-Bundi MP Om Birla was among the 2,000 guests who attended the wedding organised by the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Rajasthan government, officials said.

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The three grooms were selected after several people, who had shown interest in getting married to the women, were interviewed by officials of the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment of the Rajasthan government and the local administration, they said.

A sub-committee, chaired by ADM Kota and comprising officials from legal literacy authority and police was formed that invited proposals for the wedding, they said.

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A press note was issued seeking applications from eligible bachelors, joint director of the Social Justice and Empowerment Department of Kota, Om Prakash Toshniwal told PTI.

Following a scrutiny of the proposals, the applicants were interviewed and selected, he said.

The young women got separated from their families in childhood and were raised at 'nari niketans' or women's shelter homes under the supervision of the state's Social Justice and Empowerment Department.

Two of the three women, Punam and Sunita, are deaf and mute. They were rescued by police from Kota railway station. The third woman, Meenakshi, was raised at different shelter homes in the city.

The three are experts in sewing, knitting and embroidery, officials said.

Sunita got married to Narendra Suwalka, a grocer in the Kunhari area of the city, Punam to Mahavir Meghwal, a farmer from a village in the district and Meenakshi to Brijesh Parashar, a factory worker who resides in Swai Madhopur district.

The wedding was sponsored by Motion Education, one of the top educational institutes in Kota.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)