After Ajit could not arrange for the money, he put up a banner to collect money to pay the bribe.
A farmer's death and a desperate attempt of his 15-year-old son to pay off debts incurred in performing the last rights have shamed the district administration of Tamil Nadu.
45-year-old Kolanji of M Kunnathoor village in Villupuram district died in February last year. His son Ajit had to wait for a year-and-a-half for his turn 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 for issuing the cheque.
After he could not arrange for the money, a frustrated Ajit put up a banner asking for help to collect money to pay the bribe. A video and photographs of the young boy begging inside buses and other public places have since gone viral.
An embarrassed district administration ordered a probe on Saturday.
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 to get the Rs 12,500 that his family was entitled to get.
An embarrassed district administration ordered a probe on Saturday. The officer, VAO Subramanian, has been relieved from his post pending inquiry by the Revenue Division Officer Senthamarai.
Mr Senthamarai told NDTV that the officer in question has denied the charge of demanding a bribe. ''The cheque was prepared in the name of Vijaya, wife of Kolanji, and they could not hand over the cheque to Son Ajit since he is a minor. We are now making an electronic transfer of the amount to the mother's bank account in Mumbai on Monday.''