Latest news with #Balwant
New Indian Express
22-07-2025
- New Indian Express
Chandan Mishra murder case: Two accused injured in police encounter, one held
PATNA: Two individuals suspected to be involved in the killing of undertrial prisoner Chandan Kumar alias Chandan Mishra of Buxar district on July 17, were injured in an early morning encounter with the special task force (STF) and Bhojpur police on Tuesday. The injured, identified as Balwant Kumar Singh, a native of Buxar, and Ravi Ranjan Singh, a native of Bhojpur, have been admitted to a hospital at Ara for treatment. Meanwhile, another suspect, Buxar-native Abhishek Kumar Singh, has been arrested. Two pistols, one desi kutta (country-made pistol), two magazines and four live cartridges have been recovered from the site of encounter, which falls under Bihia police station limits in Bhojpur district. The joint STF-district police team, led by station house officer (SHO) of Bihia, cordoned off the area where the accused were hiding based on a tip. The team asked the accused to surrender. However, the accused opened fire at the police team. The police also opened fire in self-defence, injuring the two suspects. Superintendent of Police (SP), Bhojpur, Raj said that raids were underway to arrest others involved in the murder of Chandan Mishra. A posse of armed police force has been deployed in the Bihia police station area after the early morning encounter, he added. On July 17, Balwant had brought all the shooters to Paras HMRI hospital where Chandan Mishra, a murder convict on parole, was undergoing treatment. A group of five shooters, led by Tausif Raja alias Badshad, fired at Mishra in the Hospital's ICU. Balwant has been named as an accused in an FIR lodged by Mishra's father at the Shastrinagar police station in Patna. Tausif and his three associates were earlier arrested from Kolkata, and brought to Patna on transit remand. Tausif, a resident of Phulwarisharif in Patna, has been taken under police remand for further interrogation.
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
MNREGA scam: Sons of panchayat minister get regular bail
Vadodara: The Dahod district and sessions court on Tuesday granted bail to Gujarat minister of state for panchayat and agriculture Bachu Khabad's sons Balwant Khabad and Kiran Khabad in offences registered against them regarding the MNREGA scam in Dahod district. The bails were granted regarding the offence regarding irregularities in Bhanpur and Lavariya villages. Balwant and Kiran were named as accused the first offence registered regarding a Rs 71crore NREGA scam in different villages in the Devgadh Baria and Dhanpur talukas and arrested on May 17 and May 19 respectively. They were released on bail by a magisterial court in connection with this offence on May 29, but Kiran was arrested again on the same day after another offence was registered against him in Lavariya village. Balwant was later named as an accused in a third offence lodged in Bhanpur village and arrested on June 1. The order regarding bail in the first offence was upheld by the Dahod district and sessions court on June 11, but the brothers remained in police and later judicial custody in other FIRs registered subsequently. On July 3, their bail pleas in the subsequent offences about Bhanpur and Lavariya were turned down by the magisterial court last week. They approached the district and sessions court which granted them regular bail on Tuesday. The brothers have been accused of supplying material for MNREGA works even when their agencies had not qualified as the lowest bidder. It has also been alleged that some of these works had remained incomplete or were not taken up.
Time of India
06-07-2025
- Time of India
Surat cops go undercover, nab angadia theft duo in Rajasthan
Surat: Posing as cattle herders and milk sellers, Varachha police officers spent 17 days undercover in rural Rajasthan to track down two key accused in a high-profile Angadia theft case. The meticulously planned operation resulted in the recovery of diamonds worth Rs 15.56 lakh and showcased the extraordinary efforts made by Surat police to catch members of a gang involved in the Rs 41 lakh loot from an Angadia firm last month. The arrested accused — Balwant alias Ballu from Jalore and Bhavani Singh alias Bhamasha from Jodhpur — were part of a gang involved in two separate incidents of theft and loot targeting the same Angadia firm. One of the cases dates back to June 17, when diamonds and gold jewellery were stolen from an Angadia firm employee while he was travelling by bus from Ahmedabad. Based on CCTV footage and technical surveillance, the suspects were traced to Rajasthan. According to Varachha police inspector RB Gojiya, the operation took an unexpected turn when the team learned that the accused had become aware of police presence in a local hotel. To avoid blowing their cover, the officers vacated the hotel and adopted an unconventional strategy — disguising themselves in traditional rural attire and integrating into the local community. Dressed in traditional rural attire, the team mingled with locals, selling milk and discussing animal husbandry to avoid suspicion. Gradually, they gained the villagers' trust and built human intelligence networks across Jodhpur and Jalore districts. The operation, which lasted seventeen days, culminated in the arrest of the two accused. "As both cases are connected with common gang members, we had earlier arrested five accused. Now, we have arrested two more, who were also wanted in several robbery and theft cases in Rajasthan," Gojiya told TOI. Police recovered original diamonds and other valuables from the accused. Two more members of the gang are currently absconding, and efforts are underway to trace them.
Time of India
11-06-2025
- Time of India
Sessions court upholds minister's sons' bail
Vadodara: The Dahod district and sessions court turned down the applications seeking the cancellation of bail granted to Balwant and Kiran Khabad, the sons of Gujarat minister of state for panchayats Bachu Khabad in connection with the first offence registered, for the alleged Rs 71 crore scam in the National Rural Employment Guarantee (NREGA) scheme in Dahod. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Both are, however, still in judicial custody for other offences registered against them later. The Khabad brothers were arrested after their names cropped up in the Rs 71 crore scam, for which an offence was registered in April. They later got bail from a magisterial court in Dahod. Dahod police registered two more offences for NREGA scams in different villages and re-arrested Balwant and Kiran. They were taken into police custody for these offences and then sent to judicial custody. The brothers are accused of supplying material for NREGA works even when their agencies did not qualify as the lowest bidder. Material was supplied by agencies linked to the two brothers and others in three villages of Devgadhbaria and Dhanpur talukas in Dahod district. So far, 12 people have been arrested for the scam. They include eight officials and four private persons, including the Khabad brothers.
Time of India
09-06-2025
- Time of India
71cr MNREGA scam: Min's son had unlawful access to official portal
Vadodara: The investigation into the Rs 71 crore MNREGA scam, allegedly engineered jointly by a Gujarat minister's two sons and govt officers in Devgadh Baria taluka of Dahod, is throwing up more muck by the day. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The rot ran so deep that Balwant Khabad, the elder son of minister of state for agriculture and panchayats Bachu Khabad, owned the official login credentials for the scheme's portal which no other person other than authorised govt officers can own. This stunning revelation was made by the prosecution in the sessions court in Dahod on Monday during the hearing of applications to cancel bail granted to Balwant and his brother Kiran, a co-accused. While opposing the bail for Balwant, the prosecution told the court of alleged WhatsApp chats that revealed that the login ID and password of the Bhuvan portal used for MNREGA works were shared with Balwant. A senior district police officer confirmed this on condition of anonymity. The portal is used to enter details of completed MNREGA works with geotags and photographs. The official said they are still investigating what the ID was used for. "We are gathering details about the IP addresses used to log in using the ID and password," the official said. Entries regarding the work are to be made by officials, which could be gram rozgar sevaks, technical assistants or other similar officials. The investigating officer moved the applications in the Dahod sessions court after Balwant and Kiran were granted bail by a magisterial court on May 28. The special public prosecutor and counsel representing the brothers submitted their arguments to the court Special public prosecutor Amit Nair pressed for the cancellation of bail even as the application was opposed by senior counsel Sudhir Nanavati. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The court has now kept the applications for orders. The brothers are linked to agencies that supplied material for MNREGA works even though they did not qualify as vendors in the bidding. A total of 32 firms connected with the irregularities were detected in an investigation by the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA), which registered an offence regarding the scam. Balwant was linked to the firm Shri Raj Construction Co, while Kiran to Shri Raj Traders. Shri Raj Traders was paid Rs 30.04 crore, while Shri Raj Construction Co got Rs 82 lakh. Effectively, the brothers took over 40 per cent of the total amount of the scam.
