New Delhi:
Suresh Kalmadi, recently released from jail, has been chargesheeted in a new case related to the Commonwealth Games. Mr Kalmadi was the Chairman of the Organising Committee (OC) of the Games.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has accused Mr Kalmadi of violating foreign exchange laws while making payments to a London-based firm that he hired for the Queen's Baton Relay. The event, held in September 2009 in London, kickstarted the Commonwealth Games.
Mr Kalmadi has been accused, along with others, of making "unauthorised payments" of more than eight crores to AM Films in his "individual capacity" even before a contract had been signed, and of awarding inflated contracts to the same company. AM Films was used to provide taxis, public television screens and portable toilets in London. Its rates were implausibly high. Mr Kalmadi defended his decision to hire the firm as a last-minute desperate measure after officials in London put in a checklist for equipment for the event.
The ED also named five OC officials apart from Mr Kalmadi in its chargesheet - former secretary general Lalit Bhanot, director general V K Verma, deputy director general Sanjay Mahindroo, joint director general (accounts and finance) M Jaychandran and A K Mattoo.
Mr Kalmadi was arrested in April last year for hiring, time-keeping and scoring equipment from a Swiss firm even though its prices were steep.
(With PTI inputs)