Meghnad Dhakad, of Budhsithra village in Morena who is to get married in April, said he was waiting for clients at a labour market at Hajira on November 26 when two strangers approached him and offered work. He agreed.

The two offered him samosas, he said. He ate, fell unconscious and woke up in the Gwalior civil hospital, only to realise he had been sterilised.

The two men threatened, he alleged, to send his parents to jail and offered him Rs 300 to keep quiet. He did, until last week, when he narrated the incident to his parents. His father took him to a government doctor in Morena, who informed the authorities.

Gwalior In-charge Collector R K Mishra told The Indian Express that the man had indeed been sterilised on November 26. However, Mishra added that his recollection, “has discrepancies”.