A video showing a fire tender spraying water at the house of former Gujarat minister and BJP MLA Bachubhai Khabad in Dahod has gone viral, triggering a controversy over the misuse of an emergency vehicle to wash a house.
The Congress president of the Dahod City unit, Rajesh Raval, questioned the deployment of the fire tender for the cleaning exercise when residents of Devgadh Baria were only getting municipal water once every two days. The MLA paid ₹ 2,700 towards the expenses, according to Kalal. The incident comes nearly a year after Khabad was dropped from the Gujarat cabinet in October 2025 during chief minister Bhupendra Patel’s cabinet reshuffle.
“When the vehicle arrived at the MLA’s residence in Pipero village, his associates asked us to wash the house, specifically instructing us to start the washing process from the front,” Chauhan said. He said that he put a stop to the operation when his staff told him they were being asked to wash the house, and he ordered the collection of applicable charges. “Our officials will investigate this,” he said. Devgadh Baria municipal chairperson Dharmesh Kalal said he sent the fire tender after receiving a call from Khabad. “I assumed there was an emergency and immediately dispatched the vehicle,” Kalal said. He said the operation was stopped after the fire officer was informed about the request to wash the house. He said who would have been responsible if an emergency had occurred while the fire tender was at the MLA’s house and demanded action against those responsible. Khabad was reportedly away from home for treatment and was recuperating from a major surgery when the incident occurred, according to media reports.
The case came to light after the district rural development authority conducted an inquiry following complaints about irregularities. Thinking something serious might have happened, I immediately contacted the fire department and dispatched the vehicle. The fire officer immediately instructed them not to carry it out.
The state government had said a Lokpal committee was examining the alleged irregularities and that action would follow the inquiry. Earlier reporting noted: Speaking to ANI, Devgadh Baria Municipal Chairperson Ghamesh Kalal said, “Regarding the viral video, the situation was this: I received a call from the MLA asking for a fire engine to be sent. Earlier reporting noted: According to Kalal, when the fire tender reached the residence, the firemen informed their officer that they were being asked to perform a specific task. Earlier reporting noted: Kalal said the officer then informed him about the situation, following which he also directed that the task should not be performed and that the expenses for the vehicle’s trip should be collected.
