CWG 2010 - Corruption Saga

[jagga]

* Self Deleted*

[arjunm]

Rahul Gandhi's adie ,Kanishka Singh , nephew of Mr.Gupta who builds the Commonwealth Games village, is involved in scam big time.Because of Rahulji, the cost of the village was revised six times and each time it was approved by the cabinet of Ministers.

Addressing a rally in the outskirts of the Capital, he alleged that a real estate major which was involved in construction of the Commonwealth Games Village was involved in a “scam”. “Who owns this company? One of its owners is one Gupta. His nephew is Kanishka Singh. You all know who he is.....I seek answers from Congress president Sonia Gandhi,” he said addressing the rally.

Kanishka Singh, an aide of Rahul Gandhi, was quoted as saying by the PTI that the allegation was “entirely baseless with an ulterior purpose”.

As regarding corruption in organising of the Games, Gadkari said he had documents to prove the irregularities. The cost estimates were revised upwards six times since 2003 and every time the Group of Ministers, Finance Minister, Prime Minister and the Cabinet gave their approval.

http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Gadka ... cam/711197

[Murugan]

First Time an FIR Lodged

Yoga guru Swami Ramdev and a host of prominent persons like RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and former IPS officer Kiran Bedi today filed a joint complaint with Delhi police asking it to investigate corruption in the Commonwealth Games.

The 377-page complaint with "all evidences", also signed by activists Anna Hazare and Swami Agnivesh, Delhi Archbishop Vincent Concessao and scientist Devendra Sharma, was filed at Parliament Street police station this evening.

The activists demanded that there should be a proper police investigation into the corruption in the Games which was held in the capital from October three to 14.

(Yest there was a huge meeting in front of Parliament at Jantar Mantar. Prominent speakers were addressing a crowd of at least 5-10 thousand. Kiran Bedi, MP Swami Agnivesh, Tow Maulanas, an Archbishop were among the prominent personalities who addressed crowd starting a 1000 days agitation again corruption on the auspicious day of Jawahar Lal Nehru's Birth Anniversary)

[Vasu]

I think its a good thing that finally the names of the people at the top are being mentioned in the Press?

I do believe that most of the people of India are not so naive to believe that Kalmadi and his OC could have pulled this off without the green signal from his bosses.

[SaiK]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article890285.ece

[ramana]

http://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/article890285.ece

Deserves to be posted in full...

The opening and closing ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused.

Now that the terms of inquiry into the conduct of the Commonwealth Games have been extended, let us hope that the process of probe will be more open than was decision-making for the CWG. Let us also hope that the review will cover the opening and closing ceremonies as well, both in terms of their content and the decisions and choices involved in the actual design of these major cultural events. Both ceremonies received wide acclaim but left many citizens like me a bit terrified and confused. There were uplifting moments, but there was something deeply upsetting too. I felt as if the core of my identity as an Indian was going through an unexpected surgery. I could not stop feeling that an India I knew was being declared dead. Who had the taken the decision to do so, I wonder. The Games are over and the propaganda of national prestige cannot be used anymore to silence dissenting voices. Let us revisit the experience of witnessing the dramatic changes this historic event introduced in the ethos of our country and its capital.

It was early in the morning and the year was 2008. During my daily walk, I noticed that someone had dug a trench around the tree I used to pass each day. Many roots were exposed. I thought perhaps the botany department of my university had decided to cure this tree of some root infection. The next day I saw similar trenches around more trees, and within that week I noticed that the root systems had been bundled up in white plastic. Evidently, the trees were about to be relocated. One by one, over the next few weeks, hundreds of beautiful mature trees thus treated disappeared, leaving open holes in the ground. Pre-dawn trucks carried them away to an unknown destination. It was a kind of emergency. No one knew what was happening and how many trees would eventually go. It was rumoured that the contractor shifting these trees earned Rs.10,000 per tree. There was no way of verifying this or anything else that happened over the next three years on the campus of Delhi University and in other parts of the city. Let the inquiry committee find out how many trees survived the shifting and where they now are. I would certainly like to visit them if they are alive. Even if they are found dead, which is likely, it would be a relief to have the mystery surrounding their relocation unravelled.

How Delhi's public learnt to endure the pervasive but unexplained disruption of their daily life and the wilful destruction of the environment cannot be easily assessed or documented. A sudden loss of common civic rights took place. It was sometimes described as a kind of ‘sacrifice,' but the idea of sacrifice includes acceptance of a cause and attribution of greatness to it. Not for a day did the cause look great. When the display part of the ordeal was over, some people expressed pride and pleasure. For them as well as for all the others, it is important to remember that the consequences of the ordeal will stay for years and debates will be necessary to determine what exactly the Games meant for the nation. This is why it is important to recall what preceded the event and happened during it. I remember the day the Platinum Jubilee park on the campus was closed and decimated so that it could be converted into a parking lot. There was no discussion, no mention of the cost it had incurred only a few years ago. It was clear that the people who had taken over were far more powerful than the ordinary residents of the area and students. When the 2010 session began, the students were blocked from their own hostels. Several buildings were demolished. Telephone cables were repeatedly slashed, electricity and water supply was disrupted, and traffic turned into chaos. On the sidewalks, the Games took the form of a festival for contractors dealing in tiles. New tiles were installed in millions and in every conceivable colour and design. Old tiles, even the ones laid out a few months ago, were dug out. Towards the end, the tile-diggers went berserk and replaced the ones they had placed a few weeks ago. Rickshawpullers and street vendors were treated like pests — to be hit any hour of the day when the authorities wanted the road to look world class. Construction workers were made to work day and night; many who got sick, injured or died were made to disappear.

Civic and social costs apart, the financial cost of the Games will remain difficult to judge. Towards the final months, the media gave a glimpse of the scale of corruption involved in the procurement of utilities, but even if we leave those stories aside, the legitimate expenditure raises fundamental questions about the nation's priorities and values. Estimates vary but the average figure is astounding. It exceeds the total annual contribution of the Centre to the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA). How will the government convince anyone that India's ability to turn its children's right to education into a reality is hampered by a budget constraint? Why would the tribal people of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh, who are fighting with their backs against the wall, believe that their country lacks the resources to rehabilitate them with dignity when mining companies require them to be thrown off their forest land? The profligacy exhibited in the Games signifies the state's seal of approval of the lifestyle of India's new maharajas. There is no point now fantasising that we can persuade Mukesh Ambani to gift his 27-storey house and its hanging gardens to Mumbai's children as a vertical amusement park. What he has spent out of his own earnings is merely half the SSA's annual central outlay.

The callous financial behaviour was matched by the gross choices made in the representation of culture. A key item of the closing ceremony was the electronic representation of a giant size woman dancing in the nude. The item was reputedly imported from Germany, along with a team of laser technicians. It was truly a crowning moment — in the history of a society being engineered by determined hands. Exactly whose hands they are is hard to say, and that is why this is a memoir of feeling disoriented and shaken. Perhaps the inquiry committee will find out who approved that laser show and the Bollywood dance which followed. Let it also ascertain the justification for the decision to ask the young women who carried the medals for distribution to victorious athletes to dress themselves in a bridal lehenga. If the inquiry process throws even modest light on such choices, it will help to make sense of the leap we have taken in the dark, deluded in the name of the nation and its glory.

In the opening ceremony, there were items displaying the Buddha and Gandhiji. We do need to construct, with memory and imagination, what they would have thought of the indignity meted out to womanhood in the laser show of the closing ceremony. Those who choreographed the closing ceremony do not distinguish between women's bodies and common utilities. They apparently attribute sovereignty to the male right to consume both as the basic point of India's current economic growth. As philosopher and historian Lata Mani has pointed out, we are witnessing the rise of a new kind of body politic which is hostile to the Constitution's vision of a nation which guarantees dignity to all —including women and children, not just men. If the state is the primary instrument of realising that vision, the Games have certainly damaged the state's credibility. It will take a long and patient effort to restore public confidence in the state's decisions to the pre-Games level. It was not particularly high, cynics might say, but even they would agree that the Games have injured civic faith. Whatever can be done to heal that injury should be done.

[Airavat]

Cover-up of CWG probe by CVC:

The RTI reply to TIMES NOW show that out of the 39 complaints against the CWG action was pending in 37 cases. The CVC which is probing the scam is still awaiting reply in 19 cases from various departments including the CVO in Sports Ministry, the DDA, the NDMC and the MCD.

But, what is worse is that the CVC has forwarded 10 cases to the CVO in the Ministry of Youth affairs. With less than 7 weeks left for the Shunglu committee to file its report on the massive CWG scam, the conclusion from the RTI reply is simple - there is no movement forward in the probe. And this is the first time after this CVC reply has it been established that there is direct bribery charge against the tainted sports administrator.

[Raghavendra]

CVC raises questions on high cost of CWG stadia
http://www.zeenews.com/news670876.html

New Delhi: The Central Vigilance Commission has found serious procedural lapses and vast differences between the estimated and tendered costs in the development of almost all the Commonwealth Games venues here.

It has sought clarification from the authorities concerned on this as the difference in cost ranged from 30 per cent to nearly 100 per cent.

According to an internal investigation report made after inspecting the Games stadia, the Commission has noted wrong justification of rates while procuring items, poor quality of construction, grant of work to ineligible firms, rigged tender process, payment of crores of rupees for non-existent items and use of inferior products.

The Games construction works related to stadia as well as other aspects which are under the scanner of the anti-corruption watchdog, were carried out by agencies like Central Public Works Department, Public Works Department, New Delhi Municipal Council, Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Delhi Development Authority and RITES, a government of India enterprise and are worth over Rs 760 crore.

The Commission has found alleged financial irregularities in about 16 Games projects costing Rs 2,477.22 crore.

According to the report, the authorities were far from completing construction and renovation due to various administrative lacunae and improper planning.

The Commission has asked all the authorities, that undertook the construction works, to reply to its queries or observations raised by it.

The report, received in response to an RTI application filed by PTI, said the construction of indoor stadium for badminton and squash for Commonwealth Games at Sirifort sports complex was given to S B E Billimoria and Company Ltd at 30.75 per cent above the estimated cost of about Rs 118.08 crore.

“Most of the items (approximate 95 per cent) were non-scheduled items and their rates in estimate were based on current market rates provided by consultant having experience in such type of work. But the analysis of items prepared for justification was not shown during inspection,” the examiner said in the report.

“When the consultant prepared the estimate on market rates, justification of 21.91 per cent above the estimated cost within a span of approximate three months does not appear reasonable,” the report said.

The Commission also questioned poor quality of work and cost escalation in upgrading Shivaji stadium by an “ineligible” firm and at nearly double the estimated cost at Rs 160.27 crore.

“China Railway Shisiju Group Corporation is a Chinese firm and did not have any work experience in India. The firm was only registered with Registrar of Companies in India. The firm has never worked with any central or state government department/municipal board/autonomous body/public sector undertaking. Even then the firm was pre-qualified and awarded the work,” the CVC pointed out.

“This shows that the pre-qualification was not carried out as per given criteria and the work was awarded to an ineligible firm. This conclusion gets strengthened as the firm is not executing any work and has sublet the entire work,” the watchdog said.

“China Railway Shisihu Corporation stood lowest with their overall negotiated amount of Rs 160.27 crore against estimated cost of Rs 80.25 crore and justified cost of Rs 146.50 crore. While preparing the justification, NDMC considered three per cent enhancement on account of not considering escalation and other parameters,” it said. Is it more than a coincidence that kalmadi is hiding in china rite now?

“The enhancement is not allowed to be added in the justification as per the procedures of the organisation...It is clear that the justification has been inflated just to justify the tender and therefore the work has been awarded at higher rates,” the report said.

The CVC also observed poor quality of work and surge in cost of construction in upgrading Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium at Rs 147.82 crore, improvement of Talkatora Indoor Stadium at Rs 52.98 crore, S P M swimming pool at the cost of Rs 229.73 crore and development of practice venue for rugby at Jamia Milia Islamia at the tendered amount of Rs 18.37 crore.

According to the report, several discrepancies were also found in construction of road underbridge at Sewa Nagar or Prem Nagar railway crossing and Ring Road bye-pass from Salimgarh fort to Velodrome Road by MCD at the cost of Rs 20.75 crore and Rs 214.73 crore respectively.

Besides, the CVC is looking at about 39 other works carried out by different agencies.

[Raghavendra]

CBI launches raids on Kalmadi aides Bhanot, Verma
http://www.indianexpress.com/news/cbi-l ... ma/718010/

[krishnan]

New ways of corruption?

11:54 AM Govt spent Rs 14 crore on treating CWG patients!:

The Government has spent a whopping Rs 14 crores towards treatment of 3,665patients during the Commonwealth Games, an RTI reply has revealed. RTI applicant Manish Sisodia had filed an application asking for the expenditure incurred by the government towards treatment of patients during the Commonwealth Games 2010.

While 3,099 patients were treated at the polyclinic, 566 were treated at the athlete medical room. "If you calculate the medical expenditure per person it comes to Rs 40,000. There was no report of anyone being seriously injured during the event. What treatment did these patients undergo that it mounted to such a huge expense," Sisodia asked.

As per rediff updates

[kmkraoind]

Under pressure to kill jailed CWG officials, say undertrials

Congress is behaving like mafia and its classic symptoms are -
- Who pays the protection money can be spared.
- Give a cut to the boss and enjoy limited collection powers in you territory.
- No body should be above big boss and its family.
- Control media, courts, police.
- If unfortunately anybody threatens its supremacy or its interests are threatened eliminate them.

God give me the secret the "Brahmastra" so that I can target these anti-national, inhumane thugs, really feeling depressed.

[Tamang]

Can't sack Kalmadi & Bhanot from CWG OC: Govt

New Delhi: In a major reprieve for Suresh Kalmadi, the Government has told the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) that it cannot sack Kalmadi and Lalit Bhanot from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

Sources have told CNN-IBN that Government has made it clear to the CBI that it is not in a position to remove Kalmadi and Bhanot.

The Commonwealth Games Organising Committee was formed by the Indian Olympic Association, which is affiliated to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and registered as a society under The Societies Registration Act, 1860. As per the IOC charter the Government cannot interfere in the working of the Organising Committee, which has been pointed out to the CBI.

CBI Director AP Singh had written to Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar seeking the removal of Kalmadi and Bhanot. The CBI has claimed that both Kalmadi and Bhanot were hindering investigation into the alleged cases of corruption and irregularities related to Commonwealth Games.

[Raghavendra]

Can't sack Kalmadi & Bhanot from CWG OC: Govt

Congress : Woh chor hi kya jo pakda jaye, We wont sack kalmadi, we will do what we did to YSR, Madhavrao Scindia, Rajendra Vadra, Rajesh Pilot. Permanent silence and no daily kitkit of corruption allegations from media and then we will enjoy your money

[Tamang]

Kalmadi's IOA auditors to help CWG probe

NEW DELHI: The high-level V K Shunglu committee — appointed by the prime minister to probe irregularities and alleged misappropriation of funds in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2010 — has hired chartered accountants of Suresh Kalmadi-led Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to help find wrongdoings in the conduct of the Games.

Dinesh Mehta & Co have been auditors of IOA, widely seen as Kalmadi's personal fief for the control that he exercises. The choice of the very same auditor to scrutinize Games expenses allegedly fudged and exaggerated by the Kalmadi-led CWG Organizing Committee has raised hackles.

"We have some 50 people assisting us, and staff drawn from Dinesh Mehta & Co would be roughly 5-6%," defended Shunglu. Brushing aside a potential conflict of interest, he said: "What is the news value of this information? I am not embarrassed. Go ahead and do the story."

The engagement of Dinesh Mehta & Co comes at a time when CBI looks set to investigate Kalmadi regarding the several Games scams perpetrated on his watch. Three of his associates have been arrested and indications are that CBI would soon like to have a session with Kalmadi himself. Meanwhile, the two teams of CAs of Delhi-based Dinesh Mehta & Co have started their work on the CWG probe from December 3.

Hiren Mehta, a partner in Dinesh Mehta & Co, told TOI that CA firms always operated on confidentiality. He cited the example of Chaturvedi & Shah, another CA firm which assisted both Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd and Anil Ambani-led ADAG group even when the two brothers were not on good terms.

Mehta has offered to provide two teams of two CAs and one audit assistant each.

Mehta's firm will assist the Shunglu committee in preparing and furnishing a documented report to the government on its findings and observations after probing the allegations of irregularities.

WTH is going on, we need to invent a new term for all the sham probes in CWG, 2G, Adarsh scams.

[Rahul Mehta]

Under pressure to kill jailed CWG officials, say undertrials

Congress is behaving like mafia and its classic symptoms are -
- Who pays the protection money can be spared.
- Give a cut to the boss and enjoy limited collection powers in you territory.
- No body should be above big boss and its family.
- Control media, courts, police.
- If unfortunately anybody threatens its supremacy or its interests are threatened eliminate them.

God give me the secret the "Brahmastra" so that I can target these anti-national, inhumane thugs, really feeling depressed.

It is not just Congress, but every Nbjprie-group is now openly acting as mafia. Most judges are also acting like mafia. eg a clerk named Rakesh Asthana testified on how he siphoned PF money, kept some and gave away rest to some 20 judges. Two of these 20 judges are now SCjs. Guess what? Asthana was in prison, and there he took poison and killed himself. CBI says that it was plain vanilla case of suicide !!! Even the jailer is not suspended for this suicide. Rumor mill says that it was those two SCjs who got him murdered via CBI.

[ashokpachori]

Everybody who cleared Adarsh file was gifted a flat: Bombay HC

In scathing remarks, the court also observed that the state government seemed to have gone "out of the way" to please former army chiefs Deepak Kapur and Nirmal Chandar Wij, who were initially not allotted flats because they were not state residents for 15 years, but later got the flats as "exceptional cases".

http://www.samachar.com/Everybody-who-c ... fgcjh.html

[Airavat]

CWG documents missing, CBI suspects OC officials

Official sources said that the key files, which contain important information on tendering, budgetary allocation and contract details, are missing from the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) office. The sources said that CBI sleuths were not getting cooperation of certain OC officials as their bosses — the OC chairman, Mr Suresh Kalmadi, and Mr Bhanot — were still at the helm of affairs.

[Vasu]

what was that thing about 'cleaning up' corruption that Sonia Gandhi talking about recently?

Its a free-for-all right now in this country. We could easily mirror any dysfunctional banana republic in any part of the world. I would not be surprised if the CONgress jacked up the onion and tomato prices to take the public's minds off their shenanigans. And it worked too. The BJP's rally got completely hijacked by this issue. Sorry, off-topic!

[Rahul Mehta]

1. what was that thing about 'cleaning up' corruption that Sonia Gandhi talking about recently?

2. Its a free-for-all right now in this country. We could easily mirror any dysfunctional banana republic in any part of the world. I would not be surprised if the CONgress jacked up the onion and tomato prices to take the public's minds off their shenanigans. And it worked too. The BJP's rally got completely hijacked by this issue.

1.

2. We are now officially a Mango Republic. Will India improve? Depends on what steps you, me, other BRites and non-BRite Indians take.

[ashokpachori]

We are now officially a Mango Republic


And what about those 21 million tons bananas that India produces?

Mango is just 13 million tons.

Please replace your key word (mango) with that of banana and make us a proud nation.

Kem cho bhaila?

[Rahul Mehta]

We are now officially a Mango Republic


And what about those 21 million tons bananas that India produces?

Mango is just 13 million tons.

Please replace your key word (mango) with that of banana and make us a proud nation.

Kem cho bhaila?

Majhaa maa

Mango Man means Aam aadami. Everyone talks about aam aadami aka Mango Man and Indian administration looks like Banana Republic.. And so India can now be called as Mango Republic.

[Muppalla]

Cozy DDA deal with CWG builders

The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) bought back 333 flats at the Commonwealth Games Village from Emaar MGF at five times the construction cost. DDA paid Rs 767 crore at a "market value" of Rs 11,000 per square foot to purchase the flats built on its own land. Emaar MGF had fixed the construction rate with its sub-contractor Ahluwalia Contracts (India) Ltd. at Rs 2,400 per square foot.

BJP secretary Kirit Somaiya claimed that by offering the buyback deal, the DDA provided liquidity to the project, thereby saving Emaar MGF the cost of finance. Emaar MGF was supposed to provide liquidity to the public-private partnership project with the DDA, according to the original agreement. In return, it was to keep two-thirds of the 21 lakh square feet property, while one-third was to be handed over to the DDA for disposal.

The saga continues.

[Vasu]

Oh its all part of a plan that has been reported in the media. The plan is that these flats will be sold to bureaucrats and politicians at rock bottom prices now.

CONgress ka haath,
Bhrashtachar ke saath.

[Tamang]

Oh its all part of a plan that has been reported in the media. The plan is that these flats will be sold to bureaucrats and politicians at rock bottom prices now.

CONgress ka haath,
Bhrashtachar ke saath.

These will be allotted to babus/netaas free of cost.

[shynee]

Indian corruption backlash builds after 'year of the treasure hunters'

The wave of corruption has yet to provoke large-scale protests, but a host of anti-corruption websites have sprung up. One, Ipaidabribe.com, is run by Raghunandan Thoniparambil, a retired official from the elite Indian administrative service. The site was launched four months ago and more than 3,000 people have posted their own stories of graft.

Kejriwal, the activist, is realistic about the potential impact of his own site, Indiaagainstcorruption.org. "The activity on the internet shows people are angry but … won't make a difference alone," he said.

[Vasu]

It was reported in the national media that a RTI activist in Maharashtra was attacked in the past two days after he had uncovered massive land scams in his region. Fortunately he is out of danger. Ever since the Act was brought into force, there has been a rise of such activists who put their life at stake and take on the powerful forces that misuse this system daily.

With more awareness and public support, hopefully we will see more such empowered individuals and organizations. However, without proper laws to protect them and whistle blowers in India, the rich and powerful will continue to get away. Just yesterday, a youth was gunned down in Ghaziabad, UP. He was the sole witness to his brother's murder. Such things continue to take place every day in every part of the country. This country needs its politicians to sit down and change our archaic criminal and civil laws.

[Murugan]

CWG overlays scam: CBI raids five OC officials

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday conducted raids at the premises of five Commonwealth Games Organising Committee officials.Raids were conducted at the premises of AK Saxena, Nikesh Jain, RP Gupta, KUK Reddy and Sujith Lal.An FIR was filed against these officials in the CWG overlays scam.

There have been large scale allegations of corruption in the CWG overlays scam. Overlays works included the supply of tents, portable toilets and air conditioners.

The overlays also included irregularities in bids for LED boards, athletic equipment, furniture etc

The CWG overlays scam is estimated to be over Rs 600 crore.

Suresh Kalmadi's Personal Assistant Shekhar Deorukhkar was earlier arrested for his role in the scam.

Earlier, the CBI had also arrested the head of event management companies Meroform India and GL Events Beenu Nanu, senior CWG officials TS Darbari, Sanjay Mohindroo and M Jayachandran in connection to the CWG scam. Out of the four, Darbari, Mohindroo and Jayachandran, have already been granted bail.

http://ibnlive.in.com/news/cwg-overlays ... 617-3.html

[Murugan]

COMMONWEALTH GAMES SCAM
CBI to File Cases Against Government Agencies
CPWD, PWD, NDMC, DDA & MCD under scanner for alleged irregularities

DEVESH KUMAR NEW DELHI

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is set to register cases against government departments, such as the CPWD, PWD, NDMC, DDA and MCD, for alleged irregularities committed in executing various Commonwealth Games projects. The probe agency has in the past few weeks undertaken a thorough scrutiny of files relating to works completed by these departments in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games held from October 3-14, 2010.

Having detected gross irregularities in most of these projects, it is now gearing up to file cases against these departments. The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) had zeroed in on 16 projects in which it could stumble upon things amiss. While six projects were implemented by the Delhi Government’s PWD, which had undertaken projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore to enhance the metropolis’ infrastructure ahead of the Games, MCD, CPWD, NDMC and DDA too had come under CBI scanner.

CPWD, which functions under the aegis of the Union Urban Development Ministry, had been entrusted with the task of repairing and upgrading 11 sporting venues across the National Capital Region, the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium Complex, Indira Gandhi Stadium Complex, Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Swimming Pool Complex, Dhyanchand National Stadium and Karni Singh Shooting Range.

The NDMC was tasked with the job of beautifying and streetscaping in the Lutyen’s zone, besides renovation of the Talkatora and Shivaji stadiums, while DDA had constructed the Games Village. The MCD was asked to take care of the beautification of the areas other than those falling under the NDMC and the Delhi Cantonment. The Central Bureau of Investigation has, as part of its probe into the scam, has already registered four cases. While the first two dealt with irregularities committed in organising the Queen’s Baton Relay in London in October, 2009, the third one related to the TSR scam. The last case, filed in January this year, pertained to the Rs 685 crore overlays scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation has made several arrests in the scam, and these include trusted aides of the sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman, Suresh Kalmadi. Former OC secretary general Lalit Bhanot and former director general V K Verma, taken in for their alleged involvement in the Rs 107 crore TSR scam, were on Tuesday remanded to 14 days’ judicial custody by a special CBI judge.

The agency has also taken into custody Suresh Kalmadi’s OSD Shekhar Deorukhkar for allegedly receiving kickbacks in the supply of overlays to various Commonwealth Games venues.

In The Dock

• WHILE SIX PROJECTS WERE implemented by the Delhi Government’s PWD, which had undertaken projects worth over Rs 5,000 crore to enhance the metropolis’ infrastructure ahead of the Games, MCD, CPWD, NDMC and DDA too had come under CBI scanner

• MCD WAS ASKED TO TAKE care of the beautification of the areas other than those falling under NDMC and the Delhi Cantonment

ET 3 March 2011

[Murugan]

CBI files case against Ex-prasar Bharti CEO Balli.

http://www.sify.com/news/cwg-scam-cbi-r ... caegg.html

Zoom TV's Wasim Dehlvi's office and residence raided.

*****

Shahid Usman Balwa and
Sadik Baccha in 2G

Hasan Ali Khan

And Now this Wasim Dehlvi for CWG

As suprement court has said "What the hell is happening in this country?"

[Hitesh]

I hope CBI has the balls to go after Sharad Pawar. He is the most corrupted politician in India right now. He is responsible for the hyperinflation we have been seeing in foodstuffs.

[Pratyush]

CBI questions Kalmadi

[kmkraoind]

CWG scam: Kalmadi tipping off BJP on Congress hand?

Having suspended him from the party hours after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Commonwealth Games [ Images ] scam, Congress President Sonia Gandhi [ Images ] is in no mood to maintain any contact with Pune member of Parliament Suresh Kalmadi [ Images ].

Meera Kalmadi, the wife of the former CWG Organising Committee chief, has been desperately trying to seek an appointment with Gandhi for over a week now, but there has been no response from 10, Janpath, say sources.

The Kalmadi family is upset over the manner in which he was sent to jail and the cold shoulder given to them by the Congress top brass.

Sources say that Kalmadi, who has a lot of information regarding irregularities of the CWG, is trying to pass on some sensitive information to Bharatiya Janata Party President Nitin Gadkari regarding some persons whose involvement in getting contracts may embarrass the Congress and it's top leadership.

The former OC chief is finding it extremely difficult to handle life in Tihar jail and is learnt to have sobbed in the presence of some visitors who went to meet him. Sources say that he is spending thousands of rupees a week in jail to avoid discomfort, which includes being allowed home food, a cooler for and some other basic facilities.

It is learnt that OC general secretary Lalit Bhanot who is also lodge in Tihar jail was asked to clean toilets during his first two days as an inmate.

Definitely the imagination of cleaning of toilets might send a cold chill into the spines of corrupt babus.

[Klaus]

Swiss Timing entangled in CWG 2010 corruption case

"What's happening in India is very damaging. It's decades of reputation that are ruined by allegations that we think are totally ungrounded," the company's chief executive Christophe Berthaud told AFP by telephone.

He has been called to stand trial in New Delhi, at a date yet to be set, over claims the company cheated the Indian state by corrupting officials to win the contract for the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi last year.

In a 36-page chargesheet filed in a special court in the capital and seen by AFP, the Indian Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) accuses Swiss Timing and its partners of causing "a wrongful loss of 956 million rupees".

The loss "was caused to the organising committee and a corresponding gain to Swiss Timing and its partners and representatives by eliminating all competition as a result of conspiracy, forgery and abuse of position."

Hopefully, they are punished if found guilty. It would be a small measure of solace for the Indian public, who are getting tired of the scams.

Prosecutors allege that former airforce pilot Kalmadi and others deliberately skewed the tender process in order to eliminate competitors to Swiss Timing and its local Indian partner of 25 years, Gem International.

Police also claim to have unearthed several suspected kickback payments from Gem, including one worth 7.1 million rupees to a company favoured by Kalmadi after the Commonwealth Youth Games in 2008.

In another transfer, the CBI claims Gem paid a company called AKR Constructions in the southern city of Hyderabad 112 million rupees to lay cables for the timing system at the Delhi Games.

Police say AKR had no experience in that field, produced bogus paperwork when probed by investigators, and was unable to identify the labour contractors it supposedly employed for the work.

A costing analysis conducted by experts concluded the work should have cost only 7.5 million rupees, the CBI says.

Berthaud, who has not been formally notified of the charges, says Swiss Timing has local partners across the world and Gem "looked after the part of things that have to be delivered locally".

When asked about the payments cited by the CBI, he said he "cannot speak on their behalf".

"We also did our own internal investigation to be sure because we are a very renowned company," he said, adding the company probe found "nothing wrong".

Both Gem partners charged in the case have absconded.

Swiss Timing was named only in March 2010, six months before the opening ceremony, leading to a far higher price for the organisers and performance problems throughout the October 3-14 event.

"They didn't have time to develop the software and test it properly," said a technology expert with knowledge of the Delhi event, who asked not to be named.

But he cautioned against jumping to conclusions about Swiss Timing's role in the alleged criminal conspiracy.

Police and a high-level committee formed by the government have calculated the losses caused by Swiss Timing by doing a crude comparison of its price with that of the only other competing bidder -- a Spanish company called MSL.

"It's impossible to say what quality they would have provided without understanding the nature of their offering," the expert said of MSL, which has previously worked as a subcontractor at other sporting events but is untested as the primary provider.

Berthaud underlined that buying a timing and results service is like choosing a car. "You can get a car for 10,000 euros or half a million euros. There are big, big differences," he said.

[chaanakya]

CWG Aftermath

Street lighting case: City court to frame charges against six

A Delhi court will frame charges on March 1 against six persons, including four MCD officials, for their alleged role in the Commonwealth Games (CWG) street lighting scam. One of the 10 Games-related scams being probed by the CBI, it caused a loss of about Rs 1.5 crore to the government.

In an order issued on Friday, Special CBI Judge Pradeep Chadha said that prima facie, a case was made out against the four officials for entering into a conspiracy with a private firm, Sweska Powertech Engineers Private Ltd, and its two co-promoters, J P Singh and T P Singh.

The court discharged Mehul Karnik, an official of Philips India, stating that he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In 2008, the MCD floated a tender for improving street lights in the city. As much as 101.56 km of road was covered in the contract, bagged by Sweska Engineering, a Rajouri Garden-based firm, for Rs 34.53 crore.

The CBI had alleged in its chargesheet that a clutch of senior MCD officials headed by D K Sugan, its superintending engineer, had conspired with the directors of Sweska and an official of Philips India to inflate bills submitted by them — causing a loss of Rs 1,42,83,000 to the government.

Besides Sugan, whom the court described as the kingpin, the other MCD officials who face charges are Executive Engineer O P Mahala, Accountant Raju V and Gurcharan Singh, a tender clerk.

The court said that no case could be made out against Mehul Karnik, the official from Philips India, as the prosecution had based its case against him only on the fact that he was present at a meeting held in Sugan’s office in May 2008, when the tenders were opened and bills allegedly overwritten. The judge noted that as per the meeting records, Karnik had participated in the meeting thinking that Philips had also submitted a tender for the contract and was, in fact, shocked to realise otherwise. The court ruled that his presence in the meeting could not be taken as an indication of his participation in the criminal conspiracy.

[chaanakya]

]NDMC officials under CBI scanner in CP works case

The CBI has taken up two preliminary enquiries (PEs) against NDMC officials and private contractors in connection with beautification work undertaken at Connaught Place (CP) and installation of street lights in areas under the civic body during the 2010 Commonwealth Games. The agency reportedly found prima facie evidence suggesting that funds were misappropriated.

The CBI will coordinate with the I-T department and

Enforcement Directorate to probe the alleged inflated budget during the award of contracts to private firms. Last year, the CBI had formed an SIT to look into instances of corruption and irregularities highlighted in the CAG report.

[chaanakya]

Rs 71.73 lakh paid for Shilpa Shetty’s performance to ‘fulfill wish of Kalmadi’

NEW DELHI: A Delhi court dealing with a CWG related corruption case today said two of the accused had paid Rs 71.73 lakh for cinestar Shilpa Shetty's performance in the closing ceremony of 2008 CWG Youth Games at Pune 'merely to fulfill the last moment wish' of Suresh Kalmadi.

The court, which put sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Kalmadi and others on trial for the offences under various sections of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act, observed that promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International, P D Arya and A K Madan, paid Rs 71.73 lakh to M/s Whiz Craft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd for Shetty's performance.

According to court sources, Arya and Madan, who were representing Swiss Timing, which was "illegally" awarded the contract to install Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system for the 2010 CWG at inflated rates, had paid the money which was "arranged beyond the scope of work".

Sources said the court, in its order, has noted that both the accused were associated with the CWG Youth Games 2008 and had paid Rs 71,73,950 at Kalmadi's instance through cheque on October 30, 2008 to Whiz Craft International Entertainment Pvt Ltd for Shetty's performance.

Besides Kalmadi, Special CBI Judge Ravinder Kaur also framed charges against OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, Arya, Madan and others for criminal conspiracy, forgery, cheating and other offences entailing life imprisonment as maximum punishment.

The accused were chargesheeted by the CBI for "illegally" awarding a contract to install TSR system for the 2010 Games to Swiss Timing at inflated rates causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.

The court had on December 21, 2012 passed the order on framing of charges under various provisions of the IPC and the PC Act against Kalmadi and other accused in the case.

[chaanakya]

CWG scam: Suresh Kalmadi charged with cheating, pleads not guilty


Charge sheet for kalmadi and others includes amount 90 crs only as against Rs 70000 cr figure for the scam.

A Delhi court on Monday framed charges against sacked CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi and nine others for allegedly cheating, conspiring and causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer in a Games-related corruption case.

Kalmadi, however, has pleaded not guilty.

Special CBI Judge Ravinder Kaur framed charges under various provisions of the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption (PC) Act against Kalmadi and other accused, including OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, in the case.

Besides cheating and criminal conspiracy, the accused have also been charged with offences relating to forgery and use of forged documents as genuine, criminal intimidation, destruction of evidence of the IPC and section 13(1)(d) read with section 13(2) (criminal misconduct by public servants) of the PC Act.

After framing of charges, the court fixed February 20 for recording of evidence in the case. The judge said that the evidence will be recorded on a day-to-day basis barring Monday and Friday.

The accused were chargesheeted by the CBI for "illegally" awarding a contract to install Timing, Scoring and Results (TSR) system for the 2010 CWG to Swiss Timing at inflated rates causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.

Special CBI Judge Ravinder Kaur had on January 10 posted for Monday the framing of charges in the case. Besides Kalmadi and Bhanot, the other accused in the case are OC's former director-general V K Verma, former director-general (Procurement) Surjit Lal, former joint director-general (Sports) A S V Prasad and former treasurer M Jayachandran.

The court, while ordering framing of charges against the accused, had said that as Swiss Timing Omega, which was allegedly awarded the contract at exorbitant rates, is not appearing in the court despite proper service of summons, its "trial is separated."

The court had also said that substantial charges of misusing official position have been made out against the six former OC officials, who were public servants.

The CBI had alleged that Kalmadi and others had rejected Spanish firm MSL's much lower bid of Rs 62 crore and awarded the contract to Swiss Timing Omega, causing a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.

CBI counsel V K Sharma had argued that Kalmadi and others had decided to award the contract for installing the TSR system for the CWG to Swiss Timing even before the firm had bid for it.

Kalmadi's counsel, however, had argued that the facts given in the CBI's chargesheet were contrary to the documents which the agency had filed in the court.

Kalmadi had told the court that he was only doing the work assigned to him as the OC chairman and nothing wrong was done by him in the entire process.