There’s been some buzz recently about a fraud case linked to Mohammed Shami, the fast bowler for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and his family. Reports from news agency PTI are saying that this all revolves around an investigation in Amroha, Uttar Pradesh. The District Magistrate, Nidhi Gupta Vats, announced that they’ve found early evidence pointing to trouble with the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, or MNREGA for short.
For those who don’t know, MNREGA is a really important program meant to give rural families a safety net by ensuring they get at least 100 days of work every year. It’s a lifeline for a lot of households across India. But now, it looks like some folks have been cashing in without actually doing the work.
The DM mentioned that there are 18 people who supposedly collected wages from the MNREGA scheme without ever working a day. Among these individuals are Shami’s sister, Shabina, her husband Ghaznavi, and a couple of her brothers-in-law, Aamir Suhail, Nasruddin, and Shekhu. Also mentioned were the children of the village head, Gule Ayesha. It seems like Ayesha, who is Shabina’s mother-in-law and is currently the village head, is right in the middle of this mess.
The District Magistrate noted that these questionable entries in the MNREGA job cards date back to January 2021, and the payments kept flowing into their bank accounts until August 2024-25, all without them lifting a finger for any labor. The DM has ordered the recovery of the wrongly paid funds and even put a freeze on Ayesha’s bank accounts.
This investigation kicked off after local media began reporting on the alleged fraud. The early findings suggest that there might be some nodding and winking going on with local officials, including the Village Development Officer, the Assistant Programme Officer, and some close associates of the Gram Pradhan.
On a different note, Shami is busy with the IPL 2025 season, playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad. So far, his performance hasn’t been great – he’s taken just two wickets in three matches and has been giving away over 30 runs in each game. His next match is against the Kolkata Knight Riders at the Eden Gardens, a big game for the team. Before this season, Shami was riding high after helping India secure victory in the ICC 2025 Champions Trophy held in the UAE.
