DAHOD, May 17: Gujarat Police on Saturday arrested Balvant Khabad, son of state minister Bachubhai Khabad, in connection with a ₹71 crore scam under the MGNREGA scheme. The arrest was made alongside that of the former Taluka Development Officer, Darshan Patel, taking the total number of arrests in the case to seven.
Balvant is among several agency owners accused of fraudulently claiming payments for public works that were never executed. His father, Bachubhai Khabad, represents the Devgadhbariya constituency and is currently serving as Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture.
The case involves owners of 35 private agencies and government officials who allegedly siphoned off funds between 2021 and 2024. Investigators say fake work completion certificates and forged documentation were used to claim payments under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act for projects that were either incomplete or never started.
“The scam involved agencies receiving payments for roads and other infrastructure that did not exist. These were shown as completed on paper to release government funds,” said Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari, who is leading the investigation.
The scam came to light after officials from the District Rural Development Agency conducted field inspections and found multiple discrepancies. An FIR was filed last month on charges including cheating, forgery, and criminal breach of trust. Initially registered against unidentified persons, the FIR has since led to the arrest of agency operators and government functionaries.
The projects under scrutiny include construction of roads, check walls, and stone bunds in Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas. Payments were allegedly made to agencies that had either not supplied materials or had not participated in the official tendering process.
“Some agencies were entirely ineligible but still received payments. The documents used to justify those payments were forged,” an officer said.
Further investigation is ongoing, and police have not ruled out additional arrests. The scam has sparked political debate in the region, particularly due to the involvement of a sitting minister’s son.
