Delhi CW Games Chairman Kalmadi Arrested on Corruption Charges

The chairman of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games, Suresh Kalmadi has been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on allegations of corruption surrounding last year’s issue ridden event.

Ajay Maken, India’s new Sports Minister dismissed Kalmadi from his post in January and the former chairman has now become the third top official to be arrested following accusations of financial irregularities, following the arrest of the Games’ secretary general Lalit Bhanot and director general VK Verma in February.

Kalmadi, who remains defiant over any wrongdoing, has been accused by the CBI of illegally colluding with a Swiss firm that supplied the timing, scoring and results systems for the Games during the tender process.

CBI spokesman Dharini Mishra stated, as Kalmadi is set to appear before the Patiala House Court in Delhi later today, April 26: “The CBI has arrested Suresh Kalmadi, the organising committee chairman of the Commonwealth Games 2010, for conspiracy to cause favour to a private firm based in Switzerland in awarding the contract for Timing-Scoring-Results System at an inflated cost.”

Construction delays and cost overruns saw the Games budget balloon to US$15.7bn from an estimated $425m.