New Delhi, May 20: The CBI today filed its first charge sheet in a Delhi court against sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, describing him as a “main accused” in a corruption case relating to irregularities in awarding a games-related contract to a Swiss firm.
The probe agency, in its over 50-page charge sheet, has accused Kalmadi as the key person with all the powers to take decisions regaring award of contracts.
“Kalmadi is the main accused as he was the person with all supreme powers. He had the supreme over riding powers in the Organising Committee of the CWG, 2010,” the charge sheet said.
Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh took the charge sheet into record and fixed it for taking up the issue of congisance on it on May 23.
Besides Kalmadi, the agency has named two companies and eight persons including OC former Secretary General Lalit Bhanot and former Director General V K Verma as accused and sought their prosecution under various provisions of the IPC, dealing with criminal conspiracy, forging documents and using fake documents as genuine.
According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly awarded the lucrative contract to the Swiss firm to install a Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) system for the Commonwealth Games at an exorbitant cost, causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.
In its charge sheet, the CBI has also named Games Organising Committee Joint Director General (Sport) A S V Prasad, Deputy Director General (Procurement) Surjit Lal, Treasurer M Jayachandran.
Others who have been chargesheeted include A K Reddy, Managing Director of Hyderabad-based AKR Constructions, and the promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International, A K Madan and P D Arya. The Faridabad firm was outsourced a substantial portion of the contract that Swiss Timing-Omega won for the Commonwealth Games.
The charge sheet, which has indicted various accused for committing offences under the Indian Penal Code and the Prevention of Corruption Act, has also named the two companies, AKR Constructions and Swiss Timing-Omega. Reddy, Madan and Arya are on the run with the CBI, armed with non-bailable warrants, hunting for them.
The charge sheet has named over 50 witnesses to prove the allegations against Kalmadi and others. While Kalmadi, Prasad and Lal was arrested on April 26, Bhanot and Verma were arrested on February 23. They are presently lodged in Tihar Jail.
Kalmadi had earlier sought bail from the court, which has reserved its order on his plea for tomorrow. PTI
