CBI files charges against Kalmadi, others in CWG scam

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) today named  10 people, including CWG Organizing Committee heavyweights Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and VK Verma, and two companies in its first chargesheet on the alleged irregularities in the 2010 Commonwealth Games (CWG).

The investigating agency has charged the five officials with collusion in awarding the contract for the TSR system to Swiss Timing-Omega at an inflated cost of Rs141 crore, which caused a loss of around Rs95 crore to the exchequer.

Kalmadi and his team-mates have been accused of pocketing the entire amount as kickbacks. Swiss Timing-Omega on its part outsourced parts of the contract to Gem International and AKR Constructions.

CBI spokesperson Dharini Mishra had said after Kalmadi's arrest on 25 April that the officials had conspired with representatives of the Swiss firm, wrongfully restricting and eliminating competition from other suppliers in a pre-meditated and planned manner. She added that investigation had revealed that the committee for shortlisting prospective bidders for TSR also consisted hand-picked officials.

Investigation had also revealed that members of the tender evaluation committee were coerced and threatened to disqualify other bidders. She added further that Indian representatives of the favoured supplier were in regular contact with the three arrested officials - Kalmadi, Bhanot and Verma - much before the award of the tender.

The selection process for the award of TSR contract took around three years. The first presentation by Swiss Timing came one year after the publication of expression of interest and the EoI was issued by the then Commonwealth Games Organising Committee secretary general Lalit Bhanot without the knowledge of the Games Finance Committee.
 
The company had itself recorded Rs18 crore as escalation cost due to delays. It is alleged that former Organising Committee director general VK Verma altered the eligibility criteria of the TSR deal without apprising the OC executive board of the changes.

It is further alleged that Kalmadi ensured that the committee formed to approve the TSR deal comprised those who favoured Swiss Timing and the two officials, VK Gautam and Sujit Panigrahi, who were opposed to Swiss Timing were forced to resign from their positions in the Organising Committee.