Former India's Commonwealth Games chief arrested for corruption

[News_Editor]

Former India's Commonwealth Games chief arrested for corruption

2011-04-25 21:12:22 GMT+7 (ICT)

NEW DELHI, INDIA (BNO NEWS) -- The former organizing committee chief of the India's 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG) on Monday was attested over corruption charges, the Press Trust of India (PTI) reported.

Suresh Kalmadi, 67, was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) over the alleged irregularities in the organization of the CWG in New Delhi last year. He was sacked from the organizing committee in January.

CBI arrested Kalmadi for favoring certain companies while awarding commercial contracts for the games. He denied any wrongdoing in the organization of the CWG which was marred with claims of incompetence and corruption.

In addition, the former chief was accused of alleged irregularities in awarding contracts to AM Films and Van Hire Limited for events held in 2009. CBI claimed that the contracts included "exorbitant rates:"

Kalmadi is expected to appear in Court on Tuesday. He was summoned to the CBI's headquarters in New Delhi for questioning on early Monday. After that, authorities decided to arrest him in the evening.

The 2010 Commonwealth Games were held in October. The competition is an international multi-sporting event held every four years in which athletes from members of the Commonwealth of Nations participate.

The CBI received claims that an estimated $1.8 billion were misappropriated from the Games' funds. The organization was marred with issues including missed construction deadlines, the collapse of a stadium footbridge and complaints of uninhabitable accommodation for athletes.

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