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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.
Time of India
17-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Guj panchayat minister's son held in 71cr NREGA scam
Vadodara: on Saturday arrested , the son of the Gujarat minister of state for panchayats, , in connection with an alleged Rs 71 crore National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scam that was unearthed in the district last month. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Balwant, Khabad's elder son, was linked to firms that received payments for the supply of materials even when they did not qualify through a bidding process. Police said Balwant was linked to Shri Raj Construction Co, while the younger son, Kiran, was connected to Shri Raj Traders. Both firms were among those that received money despite not winning the bid. Police confirmed their links to the firms during the investigation. Balwant and Kiran also applied for anticipatory bail in a Dahod court but later withdrew their petitions. Kiran is still at large. Balwant and Kiran were evading arrest, but the former was caught near Bathwada toll plaza in the district. Another accused in the case, taluka development officer Darshit Patel, presently posted in Kheda, was also arrested. He was earlier posted in Devgadh Baria. Both Balwant and Patel were presented in a Dahod court and were remanded to police custody for five days. This is the first time in recent memory that a sitting minister's son was arrested. The total number of arrests in the scam now stands at seven. The scam was unearthed last month, and an offence was registered by the director of the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), who conducted an inquiry into the matter after representations about the scam. The state unit of the Congress also made representations about the scam in the assembly and submitted a memorandum. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Dahod DRDA conducted an inquiry after directives from the Dahod district panchayat. The inquiry revealed that 32 firms that supplied materials for NREGA works in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur villages were not authorised to do so as they had not emerged as the lowest bidders. These include 25 firms that supplied material in Devgadh Baria taluka, four in Dhanpur taluka, and three in both these talukas. The offence mentioned that these firms received an amount of Rs 71 crore towards material. They submitted bills despite not being selected in the bidding process, and these bills were cleared. It also came to light that some works were never taken up, and money was paid to the agencies. Leader of Opposition in Gujarat Assembly, Amit Chavda, meanwhile, demanded that a special investigation team should be formed for the investigations in the scam. He added that the scam could be much larger and more details can be unearthed if an honest investigation is conducted. Bachu Khabad is a BJP heavyweight and OBC leader who has been an MLA since 2012.
