Gujarat minister's second son arrested in Rs 71 crore MGNREGA scam

Dahod: Police have arrested Gujarat Minister Bachubhai Khabad's son Kiran in connection with a Rs 71 crore MGNREGA scam, two days after taking his elder brother Balvant into custody.

Deputy Superintendent of Police and Investigating Officer Jagdishsinh Bhandari on Monday confirmed that three more individuals were arrested along with Kiran, bringing the total number of arrests in the case to 11.

The seven persons arrested earlier include the minister's elder son, Balvant.

"On Monday, police arrested the minister's younger son Kiran, a former taluka development officer (TDO), and two assistant programming officers (APO), Bhandari said.

According to police, the accused were involved in a fraudulent scheme where several contracted agencies received payments from the government without completing the assigned work or supplying the required materials under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA).

The scam allegedly involved 35 agency owners, who colluded with government officials to siphon off Rs 71 crore between 2021 and 2024 by submitting bogus work completion certificates and forged documents to claim payments under MGNREGA.

Minister Bachubhai Khabad, who represents the Devgadh Baria constituency, currently serves as the Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture.

His sons, Balvant and Kiran, are proprietors of agencies implicated in fraudulent MGNREGA projects carried out in the Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of Dahod district, a tribal-dominated region, the police officer said.

The First Information Report (FIR), filed last month, includes charges of cheating, forgery, and breach of trust against unidentified individuals, including government employees.

The investigation began after the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) uncovered the scam during field inspections, revealing that payments had been made for infrastructure projects, such as roads, check walls, and stone bunds, that were never actually constructed.

Furthermore, police noted that payments were also issued to agencies ineligible for government contracts or those that never participated in the official tendering process.

The investigation is underway.