New Delhi:
After eight hours of raids at his offices and homes across cities, Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organizing Committee, was characteristically defiant. "I am innocent till proven guilty. I have not taken any decision alone," he said after the raids. (
Read: Who is Suresh Kalmadi?)On Friday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) launched simultaneous raids at Kalmadi's home and offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune as part of its ongoing investigations into the multi-crore Games scam. But Kalmadi put up a brave face and said the raids didn't disturb his plans for the day. He had visitors in the morning at his Delhi home, he said, and he served them tea.
The CBI had recently written to the Cabinet Secretary Stating that Kalmadi and his closest aide Lalit Bhanot, Secretary-General of the Organising Committee, should be dropped from the OC because they were trying to block the CBI's investigation. In particular, the CBI shared its concern over the disappearance of critical documents that could serve as evidence against Kalmadi and company.
The CBI left for the day with a laptop, documents and some hard drives. Sources say its evidence against Kalmadi will include testimony from some of the men who worked most closely with him on the Organizing Committee. Three of them were arrested a few weeks ago. One - TS Darbari - has stated that he is being served up as a scapegoat to protect bigger players - he has hinted at Kalmadi and Bhanot.
NDTV has accessed documents that show that the Central Vigilance Commission - the watchdog for corruption- is investigating Kalmadi for multiple complaints. He is accused of hiring equipment for the Games at highly-inflated rates, he was allegedly paid kickbacks by the company that won the contract for engineering and maintenance services, and he is accused of misusing his official position for financial benefits. These charges are part of the brief for the CBI's inquiry against Kalmadi.