Gujarat minister Bachubhai Khabad's second son arrested over alleged fraud
Gujarat minister Bachubhai Khabad's second son and four others were arrested on Monday for their alleged involvement in irregularities of ₹71 crore in the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) scheme implementation in Dahod, a police officer said.
Kiran Khabad was held two days after his elder brother, Balvant Khabad, was arrested on May 17 in the same case. The two were on the run for around three weeks.
'We arrested Kiran Khabad, son of minister Khabad, along with four others on Sunday night,' said Dahod police superintendent Rajdeepsinh Zala. He identified the four as Dahod's deputy district development officer, Rasik Rathwa, taluka panchayat officers Dilip Chauhan, Bhavesh Rathod, and Parth Baria, the proprietor of one of the 35 firms allegedly involved in the irregularities. Zala said Baria's firm received ₹5.20 crore of MGNREGS funds.
The accused have been booked for cheating, breach of trust, forgery, and criminal conspiracy. So far, 12 people have been arrested in the case.
The arrests followed a probe into payments to the contracted firms without completing work or supplying goods.
The irregularities relate to MNREGA projects in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of the tribal-dominated Dahod district. They came to light this year when the district rural development authority conducted an inquiry after representations about the irregularities.
The probe found infrastructure projects only on paper. Funds meant for tribal employment were allegedly diverted to firms connected to the accused.
Police described the irregularities as a well-orchestrated fraud involving fictitious projects and forged documents, even as the investigations were going on. Between January 2021 and December 2024, 35 contracted firms allegedly siphoned off ₹71 crore by producing fake work completion certificates and invoices.
Balvant and Kiran Khabad own two of these firms, Shri Raj Construction and Shri Raj Traders, and allegedly received money even as they did not win bids for MNREGA works.
Shri Raj Construction allegedly received approximately ₹82 lakh for the supply of goods between January 2021 and December 2024, according to the First Information Report filed in the case, a copy of which HT has seen. Kiran Khabad's firm was allegedly paid nearly ₹30 crore.
Balwant and Kiran Khabad applied for anticipatory bail in a Dahod court but later withdrew their petitions as they were evading arrest.
Bachubhai Khabad, who is the minister of state for panchayats and agriculture, has not commented on the arrests of his sons.
On March 5, the Opposition Congress raised concerns about the MNREGA irregularities in Dahod in the state assembly. Congress leader Amit Chavda alleged corruption worth over ₹100 crore and demanded an investigation.
On Saturday, Chavda slammed the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for mishandling the case. He said the MNREGA fraud was part of 'widespread corruption' and criticised the government for allowing firms linked to the Khabad family to receive unchecked payments for years. He demanded a Special Investigation Team probe, alleging that the current investigation was insufficient and that 'bigger names' could emerge with a deeper inquiry.
The state government had said a Lokpal committee probe was going on, and action would follow after its completion.
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