CBI hits homes of Suresh Kalmadi, aide

The Central Bureau of Investigation today raided the houses of chief organiser of the New Delhi Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi, and one of his aides, as part of a probe into graft allegations that surrounded the event.

A spokesperson from the CBI said the police had conducted searches at Kalmadi's residences in the capital and Pune, and at the home of his personal secretary Manoj Bhore. The raids began at about 7 am when a team over 10 agency sleuths simultaneously entered all the premises.

The games, which were held in Delhi in October, were hit by claims of massive financial irregularities as the budget ballooned to an estimated $6 billion (Rs27,000 crore).

The CBI spokesperson said a top police official had written to the government earlier this month requesting the removal of Kalmadi and his deputy Lalit Bhanot from the chairmanship of the games organising committee on the grounds that he was obstructing the investigation.

The raids comes days after it was reported that some of the crucial documents which could throw light on the games deals have gone missing with the probe agencies fearing that they could have been destroyed or hidden.

Reports have said that key files, which contain important information on tendering, budgetary allocation and contract details, are missing from the organising committee office.