Official accused of demanding chicken and liquor; transferred

An Additional District Magistrate (ADM) posted in Madhya Pradesh's Guna district was transferred Thursday after he was accused of habitually demanding chicken and liquor from village-level officials.

A woman official had posted a stern message on a WhatsApp group of Patwaris some time ago, saying that ADM Dilip Mandavi's such demands should not be entertained.

Patwaris are village-level revenue officials.

"Koi bhi ADM ko daru aur chicken nahi pahunchayega. (Nobody shall provide liquor and chicken to the ADM)," Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Shivani Garg said in the message on the WhatsApp group.

If someone was found to have done so, she would take action against him, Garg warned.

When the message circulated on other groups of Patwaris, Garg allegedly asked all the Patwaris to delete the message, said a source in the district collector's office.

When contacted, Garg said she and other junior staff decided to post the message as Mandavi's demands put the Patwaris in a fix.

"That is why we posted the message in the group and also submitted a memorandum (to the state government) through the collector. Now he is not making any demands," she said.

Mandavi himself, when reached for comment, said he was not aware why the SDM (who is his subordinate officer) should have posted such a message.

However, taking the matter seriously, the state government Thursday transferred him from Guna to the secretariat here, official sources said.