LUCKNOW: The family of Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami's sister and her husband is facing allegations of fraud after reportedly receiving wages under the MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) scheme, which guarantees employment to rural workers.
As per the sources, documents were there to show the registration of Shami's sister, Shabina, as a worker under the scheme receiving money from 2021 to 2024. As per the local sources, not only Shabina but also her husband Ghaznavi and his two younger brothers – Aamir Suhail, pursuing MBBS, and Shekhu, an advocate – were listed as MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers in Paloala village under Joiya block, Amroha district.
Shabina’s mother-in-law Gul Aisha, is the village head of Paloala village. Earlier, Shabin’s father-in-law Shakil, who is now convalescing in Delhi, had been the village head of Paloala for four consecutive terms before handing over the baton to his wife, Gul Aisha. The sources claimed that all the four job cards under the names of Shabina, Ghaznavi, Aamir Suhail and Shekhu—were issued in January 2021.
Till August 2024, Shabina had received Rs 71,013 in her account as wages of MNREGA. Similarly, her husband Ghaznavi got Rs 65,000, brother-in-law Aamir Suhail got Rs 63,851 and advocate Shekhu received Rs 67,000 in his account.
The sources claimed that the fraud came to light in August 2024 leading to the cancellation of all four job cards by Gram Panchayat secretary Vijendra Tyagi. However, the authorities concerned neither acted against the erring officials for issuing job cards to Shabina and kin nor was the money received by the family recovered.
Moreover, with the cancellation of job cards in August 2024, the names of the four beneficiaries were removed from the MNREGA website. The issue resurfaced following a complaint lodged against the family by a fellow villager on March 25, and Amroha DM Nidhi Vatsa took cognizance of it. She ordered an inquiry into the issue, appointing Project Director Amarendra Pratap as the inquiry officer.
Subsequently, the Area Panchayat Officer Lokchand Anand went to Paloala village to cross-check the documents and talked to the villagers on Wednesday. The local sources said that after the primary enquiry, it was revealed that the family owned a two-storey residence and farming land worth lakhs.
Meanwhile, reacting to the incident, Mohammad Shami’s brother Haseeb expressed ignorance about the alleged fraud saying that they were not aware of what was going on in Shabina’s family and that they had nothing to do with it.
Calling it a serious issue, Amroha DM said that the further action would be initiated on the basis of the probe report.