Latest news with #Balvantsinh
Indian Express
a day ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Another case under MGNREGA ‘scam': Balvantsinh Khabad sent to five days police custody
A local court in Dahod on Monday remanded Balvantsinh Khabad — the older son of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat, Bachubhai Khabad — to five days in police custody following his re-arrest on Sunday in a fresh case of alleged irregularities in the the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in district's Dhanpur taluka. On Monday, the Dahod district police sought 14 days remand of Balvantsinh, citing that records of the payments as well as involvement of government officials, who favoured the agency run by the accused, needed to be probed into. Dahod Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari told The Indian Express, 'We had sought a remand of 14 days on various grounds but the court has granted five days in police custody until Friday. We also have Kiran Khabad in custody until Friday.' Balvantsinh's arrest on Sunday had come just three days after the Dahod Sessions court on Thursday had upheld the regular bail granted to the two brothers in the first case filed by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA) of 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 come in a third FIR lodged by the DRDA in case of incomplete projects in Bhanpur village in Dhanpur taluka of the district. In the new case against Balvantsinh, the police is probing an irregularity of approximately Rs 33 lakh for about 11 incomplete MGNREGA works that have been found in Bhanpur village of Dhanpur taluka. Bhandari added that no fresh arrests have been made in any of the three FIRs registered so far. A total of 14 persons 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 Assistant Programme Officer of Dhanpur Bhavesh Rathod, MIS operator Sanjay Baria and the owner of other agencies that supplied materials — Parth Baria and Jagdish Baria — are among the 14 accused to be arrested so far. Kiran and Balvantsinh are the only accused to have been arrested in more than one FIR so far.
Indian Express
2 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
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.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
MGNREGA ‘scam': Kiran Khabad sent to seven days in police custody
A local court in Dahod on Friday remanded Kiran Khabad — son of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, Bachubhai Khabad — to seven days in police custody in an alleged scam under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Lavaria village of Devgadh Baria taluka, for which a second FIR was lodged against him on Thursday afternoon based on the complaint of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA). Kiran and his brother Balvantsinh were earlier arrested in an alleged scam of Rs 71 crore in works carried out under the MGNREGA in two villages in Devgadh Baria and one in Dhanpur taluka — from where the Khabads hail. Dahod district Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari told The Indian Express that the police had sought a remand of 14 days to conduct an investigation into the second FIR lodged in the alleged scam of about Rs 18.41 lakh in works done under MGNREGA, from January 2021 to December 2024. 'We sought the remand on the ground that we need to probe the transactions involved, who made the bills and who passed them. Who are the government officers involved in the scam and who benefited from the scam. We had sought a 14 days remand but the court granted a remand of seven days,' Bhandari told this newspaper. The FIR, lodged by in-charge DRDA Director SC Bhambholiya, states, 'After inspecting the site of various works in Lavaria village, it was found that out of the total 79 works, 21 had not been completed but bills worth Rs 18.41 lakh towards material and labour were cleared… The same was done in connivance with government officials by unauthorised agencies that did not participate in the tender process or emerge as the L1 bidder in the MGNREGA projects.' L1 bidder submits the lowest bid price in a procurement process. Kiran had been taken into custody from outside Dahod sub-jail, following his release on regular bail on Thursday in the first FIR of the alleged scam of Rs 71 crore. While his older brother Balvantsinh was allowed to leave from the sub-jail as per the conditions of the bail, Kiran was formally arrested at Dahod B-Division police station late on Thursday evening.
Indian Express
5 days ago
- Indian Express
MGNREGA ‘scam': Dahod court dismisses police revision plea against bail to Khabad's sons
The Dahod sessions court, on Thursday, dismissed the plea of the district police seeking stay on the regular bail granted on Wednesday to two sons of Gujarat Minister Bachubhai Khabad — Balvantsinh and Kiran — arrested in an alleged scam of Rs 71 crore in the works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). Apart from a bail bond of Rs 50,000 each, the Khabad brothers have also been barred from staying in Dahod district during the course of the investigations. The Dahod court rejected the plea of the district police challenging the bail order of Wednesday, following which, the process for the release of Khabad brothers from judicial custody started, lawyers of the Khabads told The Indian Express. Among the bail conditions, the court has directed Balvantsinh and Kiran Khabad to submit a bond of Rs 50,000 each, as well as prohibition from entering Dahod district until the investigation in the case is completed. They have, however, been asked to appear before the investigating officer whenever required. Advocate AR Chauhan, representing the Khabad brothers, told The Indian Express that the court had directed the brothers to cooperate in the further investigations. 'The Sessions court has upheld the regular bail granted to Balvantsinh and Kiran Khabad on Wednesday… The police application was rejected. They will comply with the conditions.' On Wednesday, a court granted Balvantsinh and Kiran Khabad regular bail in the case of the alleged MGNREGA scam unearthed in the villages of Devgarh Baria and Dhanpur district. Chauhan had argued on the grounds that the firms of Balvantsinh and Kiran were involved in supplying material and did not have a contract to complete the work on the ground. Their liability cannot be made out in the case of non-completion of MGNREGA projects as they only supplied the material and it was not their task to see if the material was used for completing the roads. Senior officials of Dahod police remained unavailable for comment on Thursday. A total of 14 persons have been arrested in the alleged scam so far.
Indian Express
6 days ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Held in MGNREGA ‘scam', sons of Gujarat minister Khabad granted bail but won't get to walk out of jail for now
A court in Dahod district on Wednesday granted conditional bail to two sons of Gujarat Minister Bachubhai Khabad — Balvantsinh and Kiran — who were arrested in an alleged scam of Rs 71 crore, stemming from works carried out under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA). The state government has decided to appeal against the bail order on Thursday, top officials of Dahod district administration confirmed. The Khabad brothers, meanwhile, will continue to remain in judicial custody until the hearing of the appeal on Thursday, they added on condition of anonymity. The court granted Balvantsinh and Kiran regular bail in the case of the alleged MGNREGA scam unearthed in the villages of Devgarh Baria and Dhanpur district. Advocate A R Chauhan, representing the Khabad brothers, told The Indian Express that the court had granted regular bail on a surety of Rs 50,000 and with condition to cooperate in further investigation. While Balvantsinh was arrested on May 17, Kiran was held on May 19. Chauhan said, 'We argued on the grounds that the firms (of Balvantsinh and Kiran) were involved in supplying material and did not have a contract to complete the work on the ground. Their liability cannot be made out in the case of non-completion of MGNREGA projects as they only supplied the material, and it was not their job to see if the material was used for completing the roads or not. The court considered the argument and also the fact that they had been arrested and subjected to questioning during the police remand.' On the state government preparing to challenge the bail order, an official said, 'We have been granted a day's time to challenge the bail order. We will seek a stay on the bail order on Thursday.' Meanwhile, Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) termed the 'sidelining' of Khabad as an 'eyewash' by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Dr Manish Doshi, GPCC Spokesperson, told this newspaper, 'Sidelining Khabad from two events is a face-saving exercise by the BJP… Whenever someone is caught in the middle of party-backed corruption, they indulge in a hogwash by sidelining the person concerned for a brief period. The BJP has an absolute majority. What is stopping them from demanding Khabad's resignation or removing him from the cabinet? If they are indeed embarrassed, they should have him resign.' Notably, Khabad was conspicuous by his absence during an event in Dahod on Monday, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a 9000 HP Locomotive Rolling Stock Workshop, built by the Ministry of Railways, besides other development projects in the state. Doshi further said, 'This (MGNREGA issue) is only one case in Dahod… in most districts, such scams abound and investigations have not taken place in many of them. If other cases are also investigated, Khabad's links would be found there, too. It is the BJP's policy to promote people who indulge in corruption…'
