27 March,2026 09:59 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
KBC fame Amita Tomar arrested
Amita Singh Tomar, a woman tehsildar who once gained national recognition after winning Rs 50 lakh on Kaun Banega Crorepati, has been arrested in Gwalior over an alleged Rs 2.5 crore flood relief scam. The official is accused of diverting funds meant for victims through fake accounts, with multiple arrests already made in the case.
Amita Singh Tomar was arrested on Thursday in connection with alleged irregularities that took place in 2021 in Baroda tehsil, an official said, adding that she has been lodged in a jail in neighbouring Shivpuri after being produced in court.
"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 applied for anticipatory bail in the High Court as well as the Supreme Court, but her appeals were rejected, he added. According to court records, the prosecution claims that Tomar played a key role in authorising paperwork that allowed money intended for flood victims to be diverted.
The official said 22 patwaris (revenue officials) and one tehsildar have been arrested so far in the 2021 flood relief âscam', which involves Rs 2.5 crore allegedly being transferred into fake bank accounts for the purpose of embezzlement.
Some 110 persons have been named in the FIR in the matter, he added. The case is being probed by the SDOP of Baroda, a tehsil in Sheopur district, said Superintendent of Police Sudhir Kumar Agarwal.
"Tomar had been absent from her duties, and a police team subsequently traced her and arrested her in Gwalior," the SP said.
Tomar had appeared on KBC Season 5 and won Rs 50 lakh as a contestant on the show hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
In recent years, Amita Singh Tomar has been at the centre of controversies over her social media posts, where she criticised administrative actions. She also sparked outrage after making objectionable remarks on a post related to the Constitution.
