CWG scam: Congress distances itself from Kalmadi

NEW DELHI - With the multiple trails of corruption involved with the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) inching closer to the door of Suresh Kalmadi, Congress on Wednesday distanced itself from Kalmadi saying that he was not made the Organizing Committee (OC) Chairman for being a party MP.

“It has nothing to do with the Congress party. Kalmadi was elected as Chairman of the OC beacuse of being the head of Indian Olympic Association and not because he was a member of Congress or Lok Sabha MP from the party,” said Congress spokesperson Shakeel Ahmed.

“Whoever are responsible and if their complicity is involved, action will definitely be taken. CBI has the facts and it knows when to take what action against whom. We should allow CBI to do its job. CBI will act at the right time,” he added, when asked about the arrest of Kalmadi’s key aide Lalit Bhanot.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) earlier today arrested Kalmadi’s key aides Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma in connection with alleged irregularities related to the event.

The arrest of the two took place after both were questioned about the Rs 107 crore contract that was awarded to a Swiss time-keeping company.

Deputy Inspector General of CBI Bineeta Thakur told reporters in New Delhi that the two had been arrested and would be produced before a designated court on Thursday.

They were arrested in connection with the investigations being carried out by the agency in a case registered for procuring Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) Systems at exorbitant rates of Rs 107 crore.

Responding to a question whether Kalmadi would also be arrested, Thakur said: “Let us wait and see. It’s all a matter of investigations and we cannot say anything right now.”

“The two officers had abused their official position and entered into a criminal conspiracy with the foreign firm and other unknown persons “to cheat the government in awarding contract to the said company for acquiring TSR System at exorbitant rates of Rs 107 crore,” she added.

Bhanot, the former Organizing Committee Secretary General was booked under Sections 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under various sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act, along with the Switzerland-based firm Swiss Timing Ltd and other unknown persons.

The CBI is also probing alleged irregularities in the hiring of Swiss firm Event Knowledge Services (EKS) as CWG’s technical consultant.

The document is expected to help the CBI establish the alleged role of Kalmadi and Bhanot in connection with scams surrounding the 2010 sporting extravaganza.

The original tender document, which comprised several files, was missing for over three months, since the CBI began its investigation. It has now been recovered. (ANI)