NEW DELHI/PUNE, Dec 24 � The CBI today raided Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Chairman Suresh Kalmadi�s homes and offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, two months after the sporting extravaganza ended amid allegations of financial wrongdoings in awarding of some contracts, reports PTI
Over 40 CBI sleuths swooped down on the premises of 66-year-old Kalmadi, a senior Congress leader and a Lok Sabha MP, in the three cities at around 7 am to conduct simultaneous searches which lasted for eight hours. The raids were part of the agency�s probe which has already led to arrest of three of his colleagues.
Today�s raids by CBI marked the first searches of bealeaguered Kalmadi�s properties in the aftermath of the CWG scam.
Besides Kalmadi, the premises of his personal secretary Manoj Bhure in Pune were also searched by the CBI. Kalmadi�s farm house at Khadakwasla near Pune and the �Sai Service� petrol station owned by him in Pune were among his properties searched.
Kalmadi, who has been at the centre of a controversy in awarding contracts for the 11-day sporting event in the first fortnight of October, was also questioned about some documents during the searches, official sources said. He resigned as Congress Parliamentary Party(CPP) secretary recently.
Immediately after the searches, the CBI called his close aide Shekhar for questioning to the agency headquarters, the sources said.
�CBI today carried out search of the office and residences of the Chairman of the OC of CWG 2010 and his
personal secretary in Delhi, Pune and Mumbai as part of the ongoing investigation into the allegation of award of video installation work for the Queen�s Baton Relay to a London-based private firm at inflated rates,� Bineeta Thakur, CBI DIG and Spokesperson, told reporters in New Delhi.
Several documents recovered during searches are being scrutinised.
Kalmadi was likely to be called to the CBI headquarters for questioning once the agency obtains the forensic analysis of computers and laptops, the sources said.
After the searches, Kalmadi, a former IAF pilot, tried to put up a brave face telling reporters outside his residence, �I have not taken any decision alone. All decisions have been taken by the Executive Board�.
As he faced a volley of questions, Kalmadi said, �I am innocent till proven guilty. You (media) are all pronouncing me guilty�. Kalmadi also said he had assured complete cooperation to the CBI.
Kalmadi said CBI teams had also searched his brother�s place in Mumbai.
The CBI move 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.
