CWG scam: Income Tax raids offices of contractors

NEW DELHI - Offices of several contractors, who were involved with the recently held XIXth Commonwealth Games, were raided by income tax officials on Thursday.

Raids are being conducted at the offices of Satya Prakash Constructions, which provided landscaping services for the Games, and at the offices of Shiv Naresh Sports, which provided tracksuits for the event.

With the Commonwealth Games over and demands for probe for mounting, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh had on October 15 appointed a high-level committee headed by former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) VK Shunglu to look into allegations of corruption related to the mega sporting event.

The committee will submit its report to the Prime Minister within three months. The Prime Minister’s office has promised that those who ’shamed the country’ through corrupt practices will be punished.

Meanwhile, different agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate have been asked to uncover a multitude of financial misdeeds that range from payments being made to companies that don’t exist, to contracts that allowed those hired for the Games to escape with severely over-priced equipment and services.

There are further reports that raids are being conducted at around 60 venues in the cities of Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Jamshedpur to find out the mammoth corruption linked to the Commonwealth Games. (ANI)