Commonwealth Games probe triggers Indian anger

NEW DELHI (AP):

One man threw a shoe at the organiser of India's Commonwealth Games and activists ransacked his office after his arrest on a corruption charge unleashed a new wave of anger over widespread graft and its effect on the country's reputation.

Suresh Kalmadi - who had promised the New Delhi Games would be a spectacle to rival the 2008 Beijing Olympics - has become the focus of anger over India's humiliation by allegations of graft, construction delays and massive cost overruns in the October staging of the sporting event.

Since the scandal began, Kalmadi has been fired from several of the high-level positions he holds. Yesterday, he was ousted from the Indian Olympic Association, where he was the president for 15 years, according to the Press Trust of India.

He was arrested on Monday and charged with conspiracy in connection with an allegedly overly sweet contract for timing and scoring equipment from a Swiss company - one of many deals being questioned in the ongoing probe. Investigators also arrested two others on Kalmadi's organising committee and said more suspects would be taken into custody in coming days.

criminal conspiracy

At a hearing yesterday, a judge ordered Kalmadi be held for eight days for further questioning. Federal investigators had asked for even more time, saying he and others arrested in the case were being uncooperative and evasive.

"They are not revealing the true facts and circumstances of the criminal conspiracy," the Central Bureau of Investigation said, according to the Press Trust of India.

The Games' final $15 billion price tag - several times the initial $412 million estimate - had shocked the country and dented the reputation of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's government, which along with the Commonwealth Games Federation had selected Kalmadi, a long-time sporting official, to head India's event committee.

India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party claimed millions were siphoned off by companies run by relatives of Games officials.

The governing Congress Party, meanwhile, fired Kalmadi as its parliamentary secretary in November, and on Monday suspended him from the party itself. The sports minister had demanded Kalmadi be replaced as president of the country's Olympic association and he was in a meeting yesterday.

tarnishing the region's image

Following Kalmadi's arrest, party activists ransacked his office and tore down his photo at the Congress building in Pune, the western city outside Mumbai that Kalmadi represents as a lawmaker in Parliament.

Opposition parties also staged protests accusing Kalmadi of tarnishing the region's image and demanding he quit the national assembly altogether.

One man hurled a slipper at Kalmadi yesterday as he arrived at court in New Delhi. Police immediately grabbed the man and subdued him in a headlock.

Delhi's chief minister, also under fire for the pricey staging of the Games, said yesterday there was likely a justification for Kalmadi's arrest.

"Nothing is done without any basis," Sheila Dikshit said.

She has insisted city officials committed no wrongdoing and always pointed to Kalmadi's organising committee as the source of any corruption.

A government report last month said delays, inefficiency and waste had cost the country $355 million.

Despite years of preparations, the last days before the October 3 opening ceremony were fraught with chaotic efforts to finish construction, clean filthy athletes' quarters and assuage security concerns that had some teams threatening to skip the two-week event altogether.