Gujarat minister’s son Balwant Khabad has role in Dahod’s MGNREGA scam, evidence emerges
Updated: Jun 10th, 2025
A sessions court heard a revision petition on Monday regarding a high-profile MGNREGA scam involving the sons of minister Bachu Khabad in an over ₹71 crore scandal in the village of Devgadh Baria, Dhanpur taluka in Dahod.
During the hearing, the government lawyer argued why their bail should be cancelled and detailed the roles of both sons – Balwant Khabad and Kiran Khabad – in the MGNREGA scam. It was stated that both were directly involved in the embezzlement of government funds.
Chat records and several incriminating posts were recovered from Balwant’s mobile phone. More importantly, confidential passwords and keys — typically held by government officials for processing and approving payments — were also found on his device. “This proves Balwant’s direct involvement in the scam,” argued the state.
In the MGNREGA scam, Kiran, son of Minister of State Panchayat & Agriculture Bachu Khabad, was alleged to have committed fraud under the name of Raj Traders Agency in Lavariya village of Devgadh Baria, Redhana, and Simamoi village of Dhanpur. It was revealed that 21 projects in Lavariya were only shown on paper.
Balwant, the elder son, is also accused of committing fraud through Raj Construction using fabricated paperwork in Redhana, Kuva, and in Bhanpur and Simamoi of Dhanpur. In Bhanpur, about ₹33 lakh worth of work was shown only on paper. Irregularities worth ₹9 crore were uncovered in Kuva and Redhana.
Although the lower court granted bail to Kiran and Balwant because they were merely agency holders, Dahod police presented evidence and filed a revision application in the upper court seeking cancellation of their bail. After being released on bail, the Khabad brothers were immediately re-arrested by police in another case.
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