MNREGA scam: Minister’s son remanded in police custody for four days

Vadodara: Gujarat minister of state for agriculture and panchayat, Bachu Khabad's second son, Kiran Khabad, was remanded to four days in police custody on Tuesday for questioning into the Rs 71 crore MNREGA scam. The minister's nephew, Dilip Chauhan, was sent to 10 days' police custody remand by a court in Dahod. Four others were remanded to police custody on Tuesday.Khabad's elder son, Balwant, is already in police custody for investigations. Balwant was linked to the firm Shri Raj Construction Co, while Kiran was linked to Shri Raj Traders. These firms were paid over Rs 30.8 crore for the supply of materials, even when they did not qualify as suppliers in a bidding process.The younger Khabad sibling, Kiran, in-charge Dahod deputy district development officer Rasik Rathwa, who was the taluka development officer when the scam took place, and Chauhan were presented in court on Tuesday. The police sought a 14-day remand for each of the accused's interrogation. The court granted a four-day remand for the interrogation of Kiran and Rathwa, while a 10-day remand was granted for the interrogation of Chauhan.Another accused, Bhavesh Rathod, whose firm N J Enterprise was paid Rs 5.19 crore, was formally arrested by Dahod police on Monday night. Rathod was nabbed from Mangrol near Surat on Friday evening. Rathod was presented in court on Tuesday evening and was remanded to police custody for nine days.Dahod police made two other arrests on Tuesday, including a MNREGA MIS operator, Sanjay Baria, and Jagdish Baria, who used to run a construction material supply business in the name of Umaben Madanlal Pateliya. This firm, registered in Vadodara, was paid money amounting to Rs 71.9 lakh for the supply of materials in Devgadhbaria and Dhanpur talukas. Both Sanjay and Jagdish were remanded to police custody for six days.The scam, unearthed in a probe by the District Rural Development Authority (DRDA), involved ineligible firms being given orders for the supply of materials for MNREGA works. The bills of these firms were cleared in the years 2021-22, 2022-23, and 2023-24, paying them over Rs 71 crore. A large portion of roads that were to be laid using this material were never made. Firms named after individuals under scannerThe list of firms that received money in Dahod include four whose name is that of individuals. These have raised eyebrows as in the case of a firm named Umaben Madanlal Pateliya it has come to light that the person from Devgadhbaria in Dahod district had registered the firm in Vadodara and was supplying material. The three other firms with names of persons include Jasubhai Dhanabhai Nayak, Patel Minaben Manharsinh and Rajalba Akshatsinh Solanki.