NEW DELHI, Nov 11 (TrustLaw) - A road sweeper in northern India who was asked to pay a bribe of 1000 rupees ($20) took off his clothes and offered them as he could not afford to make the payment, the Mail Today reported on Friday.
According to the report, Ram Kumar, a municipal corporation sweeper in the northern city of Lucknow was asked to pay the bribe by a government clerk named as Zakir when he enquired about details of a loan he had taken from the government to pay for his sister's wedding.
"I approached Zakir a number of times to know the outstanding. On Wednesday, he asked for a bribe of 1000 rupees for the information," Kumar was quoted as saying in the report.
"I went to the accounts office and took off my clothes. I offered my pants and shirt to Zakir."
The clerk became angry and chased Kumar out of the office, the report said.
According to a 2008 corruption study by Transparency International, people living below the poverty line are required to fork out 9 billion rupees ($195 million) each year in bribes in order to access supposedly free government services such as police help, subsidised food schemes and employment opportunities, as well as water, health, electricity, housing and forestry services.
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