Fifth arrest made for Dahod NREGA bills scam

Vadodara: Dahod police arrested one more person in connection with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (NREGA) scam. This is the fifth arrest in this case. Dahod police arrested a technical assistant, Manish Patel, on Monday. Patel had been posted in Devgadh Baria. He allegedly presented bills for two projects in Devgadh Baria taluka even when the work was incomplete. Police presented him in court and sought 14 days of custodial interrogation. The court granted eight days. Dahod police had earlier arrested four persons for the alleged scam. They had allegedly cleared suspect bills, for work and supply of materials, under the scheme. The Dahod district panchayat had asked the district rural development agency (DRDA) to probe the allegations regarding projects at Redhana and Kuva villages of Devgadh Baria taluka and Simamoi village of Dhanpur taluka. The four officials arrested earlier were also involved in the process of clearing the bills and declaring the projects complete. They include two account officers, Jayvir Nagori and Mahipal Chauhan, who allegedly cleared bills for unauthorized material suppliers as well as incomplete work. Two other officials, gram rozgar sevaks Fulsinh Baria and Mangal Pateliya, were allegedly involved in preparing the bills and making entries regarding incomplete projects.