Gujarat Minister's Son Re-Arrested After Getting Bail In MGNREGA 'Scam'

The son of Gujarat minister Bachubhai Khabad was arrested immediately after he was granted bail in another case connected to MGNREGA works, a senior police official said on Friday.

Kiran Khabad, son of Gujarat minister of state for panchayat and agriculture, was arrested two weeks ago for alleged involvement in a Rs 71 crore Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scam unearthed last month in Dahod.

"c was arrested on Thursday night after he came out of jail on bail in the first FIR. He was arrested in a fresh case lodged by Dahod police. As per the fresh FIR, some agencies, including Kiran, received payments from the government without completing work allotted to them under MGNREGA," said Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari.

As per the fresh FIR lodged by Dahod 'B' division police on Thursday evening against agency owners and government officials, payment of Rs 18.41 lakh has been made to agencies despite incomplete work carried out in Lavaria village of Dahod under MGNREGA.

Kiran was arrested along with his brother Balvant two weeks ago after the Dahod police registered an FIR of cheating, forgery and breach of trust against unidentified persons, including government employees, following the unearthing of a Rs 71 crore scam by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA).

As per the FIR, they had not completed the assigned work or supplied the required materials between 2021 and 2024 but claimed payments by submitting bogus work completion certificates and forged documents. According to police, Balvant and Kiran are proprietors of agencies implicated in fraudulent MGNREGA projects carried out in the Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas of Dahod district.

After their remand ended, both of them were sent to judicial custody and subsequently granted bail by a local court on Thursday.

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