NREGA scam: Gujarat minister Bachu Khabad's son Balvantsinh re-arrested 3 days after release on bail
The Dahod district police in Gujarat Sunday re-arrested Balvantsinh Khabad, the older son of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat Bachubhai Khabad, in a fresh FIR lodged against him by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) for an alleged irregularity under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in the Dhanpur taluka.
Balvantsinh's arrest comes just three days after the Dahod sessions court on Thursday upheld the regular bail granted to the two brothers —Kiran and Balvantsinh —in the first case filed by the DRDA regarding an alleged MGNREGA scam worth Rs 71 crore.
While Kiran was re-arrested minutes after being released from judicial custody on Thursday, in a second FIR lodged in connection with irregularities in Lavaria village of Devgadh Baria taluka, Balvantsinh's arrest has been made in a third FIR lodged by the DRDA in the case of incomplete projects in Bhanpur village in Dhanpur taluka of the district.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Dahod Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari said, 'We have re-arrested Balvantsinh Khabad on Sunday morning, following a fresh FIR of DRDA. The new case involves an amount of approximately Rs 33 lakh, as about 11 incomplete MGNREGA works have been found in Bhanpur village of Dhanpur taluka.'
'The modus operandi is the same; the agencies were unauthorised as they did not participate in the tendering process and then generated bills for material supply when the projects had not been undertaken on the ground,' added Bhandari.
Bhandari added that Balvantsinh will be produced in court late Sunday evening, with the police seeking his fresh remand. Earlier, Kiran Khabad was sent to seven days in police custody in connection with the case filed on Thursday.
The first FIR in the multi-village MGNREGA scam was lodged on April 24 by the Dahod DRDA director. It states that villages of Kuva and Redhana in Devgadh Baria and Simamoi in Dhanpur reported forged completion reports of MGNREGA projects, with payments 'made in connivance' to 'unauthorised' agencies for supplying material. Out of the 35 unauthorised agencies, 28 were found in Devgadh Baria to have received payments for non-existent roads under MGNREGA.
As many as 14 people have been arrested in the case, including the then taluka development officer (TDO) of Devgadh Baria, Darshan Patel, the current Deputy District Development Officer (DDO) of Dahod, Rasik Rathwa, who was then the TDO of Dhanpur taluka, as well as Dilip Chauhan, a former assistant programme officer (APO), and a distant relative of the Khabads.
Then, APO of Dhanpur, Bhavesh Rathod, MIS operator Sanjay Baria, and the owners of other agencies that supplied materials — Parth Baria and Jagdish Baria — are among the 14 accused who have been arrested so far. Kiran and Balvantsinh are the only accused to have been arrested in more than one FIR so far.
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