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Naib tehsildar’s reader caught with Rs 4000 and 4 kg peas

A female reader of a naib tehsildar in Gorkhi, Gwalior district demanded four kg of peas along with Rs 4,000 in cash from a farmer, who wanted to get his ancestral land transferred in his name.

Published on: Feb 24, 2018, 20:17:29 IST
Shruti Tomar, Hindustan Times | By
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Mostly bribe takers demand cash, but this female reader of a naib tehsildar in Gorkhi, Gwalior district also demanded four kg of peas along with Rs 4,000 in cash from a farmer, who wanted to get his ancestral land transferred in his name.

HT photo
HT photo

The reader Anita Srivastava was caught red-handed by a team of Lokayukta police, Gwalior on Saturday when she kept the cash inside the bag with 4 kg of peas.

A Lokayukta police official said that the accused had initially demanded Rs 10,000 as bribe from farmer Nankishore Singh Lodhi for transferring 20 bigha (around 12 acre) of land in Lodhi and his brother’s name after their father’s death. However, she later whittled down her demand to Rs 6,000, of which Rs 2,000 was to be her share and the remaining for the naib tehsildar. Lodhi had complained to the Lokayukta police regarding the bribe demand.

On Friday Lodhi had paid her share of Rs 2000 and after receiving the bribe she asked which crop was growing in the land which was to be transferred. When Lodhi said it was peas, she demanded four kg of freshly plucked peas from the farm.

On Saturday afternoon, Lodhi came with the money and peas to her desk and the accused told him to place the money inside the bag containing the peas. The Lokayukta team that was standing by swooped in and arrested the reader.

The naib tehsildar Kuldeepak Kumar was not in the office when the bribe was taken, and Lokayukta police are trying to verify if he too was involved in the crime or not, a Lokayukta official said.

  • Shruti Tomar
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Shruti Tomar

    I have spent over a decade chronicling Madhya Pradesh’s political and social landscape, covering politics, investigative journalism, crime, human interest, and government policy, blending sharp insight with ground‑level depth. I have closely tracked three assembly elections, three Lok Sabha elections, leadership transitions in MP while exposing governance lapses, tender irregularities, and flawed policy rollouts. My reports have revealed gaps in the Cheetah project, irregularities in medical education, rigging in recruitment exams, and loopholes in policy implementation. In crime reporting, I have moved beyond FIRs to map systemic patterns — from organised crime networks and gender‑based violence to custodial accountability — balancing urgency with sensitivity. My journalism is defined by a commitment to human interest. I have profiled the marginalised Bancchda community, documented atrocities against tribal groups, and highlighted efforts to preserve their culture through heritage liquor and revival of spiritual practices. I have reported on farmers struggling with failed MSP promises, giving voice to those often reduced to statistics in policy files. Passionate about field reporting, I have reported on rampant sand mining in Chambal and Narmada, pharmaceutical companies supplying medicines under altered names, the dire condition of schools and colleges, the plight of commercial sex workers, and skewed sex ratios in specific districts. Beyond deadlines, and as HT’s state correspondent and assistant editor in Madhya Pradesh, I engage with ministers, farmers, students, and activists, believing the best policy stories begin with a single human voice. A postgraduate in Journalism and Mass Communication, I also hold a diploma in sports journalism.Read More