New Delhi:
Three senior members of the Organizing Committee for the Commonwealth Games are likely to exit today. Given that all three are known for their proximity to Suresh Kalmadi, the Chairman of the Committee is going to face a new wave of embarrassment. (
Video Special: Corruption scandal hits CWG)Anil Khanna, the Treasurer of the Committee, quit on Thursday afternoon over reports that his son's company won a contract worth a crore for prepping tennis courts for the Games and used inferior material.
Khanna told a newspaper that his son is not involved with the contract and that it was won by the parent company based in Australia.
The two other members who, sources say, will be publicly removed after censure by the Sports Ministry- Sanjay Mohindroo and TS Darbari.
(Read: Who is TS Darbari?)The Sports Ministry has formally asked Kalmadi to dismiss them on the grounds that they are linked to two major financial scandals.
An email from Mohindroo shows him dictating taxi rates to a vendor in London who was hired to provide cars and other services during the Queen's Baton Relay function in London last year.
(Read: Commonwealth Games official 'fixed' taxi rates?)The vendor in question -Ashish Patel- and his firm, AM Cars -have a dubious financial record. Instead of asking him for rates, Mohindroo states what fares Patel should charge. 450 pounds a day. Exorbitant even when compared to hiring a BMW or Mercedes with a driver in London.
Darbari is at the centre of a Customs case which accuses him of illegally trying to import a ring worth nearly 20 lakhs from Dubai into Kerala. He was also sent to Australia for the Queen's Baton Relay there.
Sources say Darbari is linked to a controversial deal with an Australian firm, Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), which was allegedly promised close to 200 crores in exchange for delivering sponsorship for the Games. What exactly SMAM has delivered so far remains unclear.
The company's head, Mike Bushell, told an Australian newspaper that they had managed record-breaking deals for the Games, and that SMAM has not been paid "a single rupee" so far. The Inquiry Committee set up by Kalmadi is also looking into whether SMAM shares any DNA with World Sports Group, a company being investigated for an 80-crore kickback in a controversial broadcast rights deal for the Indian Premier League.