The Tea Estate Mystery

The Story: High up in the Nilgiri hills, Meera manages a sprawling tea estate that has been in her family for four generations. Every morning she walks the same path through rows of tea bushes, greeting the workers by name. One morning, her estate manager Govind comes to her looking troubled. 'Someone has been stealing processed tea from the drying shed,' he says. 'We have narrowed it down to three workers who had access last night — Ashok, Bala, and Chandra.' Meera calls all three men in and asks each one a single question: 'Did you steal the tea?' Ashok says: 'I did not steal it. Bala is innocent.' Bala says: 'I did not steal it. Chandra is guilty.' Chandra says: 'I did not steal it. Ashok is lying.' Meera already knows from previous experience that exactly one of the three men is the thief, and the thief always lies about everything. The innocent workers always tell the truth about everything. The Challenge: Based on the three statements, who stole the tea?