CWG: Cops target top official
NEW DELHI: Indian police said Thursday they had registered a case against the director-general of the Delhi Commonwealth Games, the most senior organizer of the tainted event named in a widening graft probe.
Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) spokeswoman Vineeta Thakur told that police had registered a first information report against V.K. Verma, the first step in criminal proceedings against an accused.
Verma was director-general in the organizing committee of the October 3-14 Games, headed by its chairman Suresh Kalmadi, who was quizzed by federal CBI detectives for eight hours on Wednesday.
Police said the case against Verma related to contracts awarded for the refurbishing of various stadiums of the scandal-hit Games.
CBI officials also carried out searches at more than 10 premises in New Delhi and its suburbs on Thursday, another CBI source said.
Premises of four privately owned firms were also searched in connection with the ongoing investigation, the CBI official said.
Police have so far charged three lower-ranking officials who are now in jail awaiting trial.
The Games, which were marred by venue delays and chaotic organization, were also hit by claims of massive financial irregularities as the budget ballooned three times to an estimated six billion dollars.
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