Rs 123 crore Nala Se Jal scam in Mahisagar: HC rejects anticipatory bail of 2 contractors; 111 Contractor accused, CID Vadodara registered a case against the original 12 accused

In June 2025, a total of 12 accused were booked in the Nal Se Jal scam case at CID Crime Police Station Vadodara city. The accused had caused a loss of Rs 123 crore to the government by showing the work of laying water pipes in 620 villages of Mahisagar district between 2019 and 2023 and forging documents. The accused are government employees. 2 Contractor Files Anticipatory Bail Petition in High Court Two of the accused, contractors Kalpesh Shah and Nanabhai Panchal, had filed anticipatory bail applications in the Gujarat High Court. The petitioner's counsel submitted that Kalpesh Shah is the owner of Chirag Ring Service. It is a government-approved contractor. The panchayat used to supervise the work done by them. Also, the rest of the work they have done has not been paid. More than 110 contractors have been blacklisted following the above police action. As many as 111 contractors have been made accused. The present petitioner has no name in the police complaint nor has he committed any embezzlement. HC rejects anticipatory bail plea Nanabhai Panchal's lawyer said that he owes Rs 47 lakh to the government. The recovery order that the government had taken from them has been quashed by the court. The public prosecutor said the petitioners had made false bills. They have not done quality work as per the rules. They had put up a false certificate of pipe testing. A total of 24 people have been arrested in the case, against whom the chargesheet has been filed. They have cheated the government. Nanabhai Panchal had issued fake bills of Rs 11.29 lakh and overloaded bills. After hearing the above arguments, the Gujarat High Court rejected the anticipatory bail plea of the petitioners. 74 villages did not get pipes, 445 bills of 31 companies turned out to be wrong. Earlier, in the anticipatory bail plea of the three accused government employees, the public prosecutor said that the scheme was originally for the benefit of Mahisagar district. In 445 villages, fake bills have been made for pipe purchases. Only 2480 km of pipeline has been laid against the document of laying 4780 km of water pipeline. In 13 villages, the work was done without tenders. As many as 74 villages did not get pipes. Preliminary investigations have found 570 bills to be incorrect. As many as 445 bills of 31 companies turned out to be wrong.