SHEOPUR: A woman tehsildar who had gained national attention after winning Rs 50 lakh on the television show Kaun Banega Crorepati has been arrested in Madhya Pradesh’s Gwalior for her alleged involvement in a Rs 2.5 crore flood relief scam, officials said.Amita Singh Tomar was arrested on Thursday in connection with alleged irregularities dating back to 2021 in Baroda tehsil. She was produced before a court and has been sent to jail in neighbouring Shivpuri, an official added.“A team led by Baroda Sub Divisional Officer of Police (SDOP) Avneet Sharma arrested Tomar from her home in Gwalior’s Chandravadni Naka. Tomar was the tehsildar of Vijaypur but was removed from the post by Collector Arpit Verma on Wednesday,” the official said.
Tomar had earlier approached both the high court and the Supreme Court seeking anticipatory bail, but her pleas were rejected, the official said.The official added that 22 patwaris (revenue officials) and one tehsildar have been arrested so far in connection with the 2021 flood relief scam, in which about Rs 2.5 crore was allegedly siphoned off into fake bank accounts.Around 110 people have been named in the FIR in the case, he said.
The investigation is being carried out by the SDOP of Baroda tehsil in Sheopur district, Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Agarwal said.“Tomar had been absent from her duties, and a police team subsequently traced her and arrested her in Gwalior,” the SP said.Tomar had won Rs 50 lakh as a contestant on Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC), hosted by actor Amitabh Bachchan.(With agency inputs)
