Dahod: A local court on Friday ordered seven days of police custody for Kiran Khabad in connection with a second FIR filed in an alleged MGNREGA scam in Lavaria village of Devgadh Baria taluka. Kiran is the younger son of Gujarat Minister of State for Panchayat and Agriculture, Bachubhai Khabad. The case stems from a complaint filed by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) on Thursday.

Kiran and his brother Balvantsinh had previously been arrested in another case involving an alleged ₹71 crore scam related to MGNREGA projects carried out in two villages of Devgadh Baria and one in Dhanpur taluka.

According to Dahod District Deputy Superintendent of Police Jagdishsinh Bhandari, the police had sought a 14-day remand to investigate the new FIR, which pertains to alleged financial irregularities amounting to ₹18.41 lakh in MGNREGA work conducted between January 2021 and December 2024. However, the court granted a seven-day remand.

The FIR, filed by acting DRDA Director S.C. Bhambholiya, states that upon inspecting the project sites in Lavaria village, it was found that 21 out of 79 sanctioned works remained incomplete, yet bills totaling ₹18.41 lakh for materials and labor had been cleared. These payments were allegedly made in collusion with government officials and unauthorized agencies that neither took part in the tendering process nor qualified as L1 bidders — those who offer the lowest price in government contracts. The police are also trying to determine which government officials were involved or benefited from the scam.

Kiran was taken into custody immediately after being released on regular bail from Dahod sub-jail on Thursday in the first FIR involving the ₹71 crore MGNREGA scam. DeshGujarat