Dahod:
Police said Balwant Khabad, son of Gujarat minister Bachhubhai Khabad, was arrested on Saturday for his alleged participation in the Magraga scam of Rs 71 crore, where some contracted agencies received payment from the government without work or supply of goods.
An official said on Saturday that the police also arrested Darshan Patel, the then taluka development officer (TDO) of Dahod district, who took the number of persons held so far to seven.
Bachuhai Khabad, who represents the Devgadhbari constituency, is the Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture.
The alleged scam included owners of 35 agencies, who were surrounded by Rs 71 crore between government officials between 2021 and 2024, which were paying under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme by producing certificates and other evidence completion of bogus work.
A police officer said that Balwant Khabad is the owner of one of these agencies, accused of cheating in Magraga, works in areas under Dhanpur taluka in Devgarh Baria and tribal-prabhu dahod district.
“The Dahod police have arrested Balwant Khabad, son of Bachuhai Khabad and the then Tado Darshan Patel in connection with the MGNREGA scam in the district. We first arrested five persons,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police and Investigating Officer Jagdish Sansin Bhandari.
The police last month filed an FIR against the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), after finding an amount of Rs 71 crore, the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) filed an FIR against unknown persons including the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) on allegations of cheating, forgery and violation of faith.
During the field visit, RDA officials found that contractors were paid for those roads, but were fully shown on paper to receive payment, the FIR said.
The specified work includes roads, check walls and stone bunds in two taluka of Dahod between January 2021 and December 2024.
Police said that the supply of material was disqualified or also paid to those who did not participate in the tendering process.
Further investigation is going on.
(Except for the headline, the story has not been edited by NDTV employees and is published by a syndicated feed.)
