Tamil Nadu: Boy begs to pay bribe to officer after father's death

A village administrative officer allegedly asked Ajit for a bribe of Rs 3,000 in order to pay him the state compensation due to farmers.

Chennai: A 15-year-old boy from Tamil Nadu has shamed district administration officials in Tamil Nadu by begging in public places to pay off a bribe.

According to NDTV, trouble began when 45-year-old Kolanji of M Kunnathoor village in Villupuram district died in February last year.

His 15-year-old son Ajit had to wait for a over a year to collect a state compensation of Rs 12,500 under farmers' social security scheme. But the village administrative officer allegedly asked Ajit for a bribe of Rs 3,000 in order to pay him the compensation.

But since Ajit could not pay the money, he created a banner asking for help to collect money to pay the bribe, said the report. The banner, written in Tamil, reads that he is in no position to repay the money borrowed for his father's last rites and he has been asked to pay Rs. 3,000 as bribe by the M. Kunnathoor village administrative officer. He began to beg inside buses and other public places in order to collect the money.

An embarrassed district administration ordered a probe on Saturday. The officer, VAO Subramanian, has been relieved from his post pending inquiry. Subramanian has denied the charge of demanding a bribe.

(This article first appeared in Deccan Chronicle)