Balvantsinh Khabad, son of Gujarat’s Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, Bachu Khabad, was arrested on Saturday by the Dahod police in connection with an alleged Rs 75 crore scam involving the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of Dahod district.
The arrest follows the withdrawal of anticipatory bail pleas by Balvantsinh and his younger brother Kiran from the Dahod court just days prior. According to Jagdish Bhandari, Deputy Superintendent of Police, Dahod, Balvantsinh’s agency, which supplies materials for MGNREGA projects, submitted inflated bills without delivering the full quantity of goods. A primary investigation has linked him to these discrepancies, but further investigation is ongoing to determine the full extent of the misdeeds.
“We conducted a primary investigation, and it came to light that an agency run by Balvantsinh Khabad, which supplies goods to MGNREGA projects, submitted bills for amounts without delivering the entire list of goods,” said Bhandari. He also mentioned that Kiran has not yet been arrested, but a probe is continuing into his involvement.
The FIR, filed on April 24, revealed that companies which had failed to win bids for supplying goods to MGNREGA projects were awarded contracts by manipulating the process. These companies’ bills were cleared, and many projects that were only on paper—particularly in Kuva village, Devgadh Baria—were reported to have received funds. Villagers reported the scam to district officials, prompting the investigation.
Earlier, the police had arrested five individuals in connection with the scam, including two accountants from the MGNREGA branch, Jayveer Nagori and Mahipalsinh Chauhan; Gram Rojgar Sevaks Kuldeep Baria and Mangalsinh Pateliya; and technical assistant Manish Patel.
In response to the scam, Congress leader Amit Chavda demanded the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT). He accused the BJP-led government of ignoring repeated complaints about corruption in MGNREGA projects in Dahod. Chavda suggested that the government’s actions were only an attempt to cover up the issue.
“The government is pretending to investigate the case, but it is nothing but an eyewash. An SIT must be formed to uncover the full extent of this scam, and bigger names will surely emerge,” Chavda stated.
The investigation continues, with authorities hoping to uncover more details about the fraudulent activities.
