Indian police arrest Commonwealth Games treasurer

Indian police arrest sacked treasurer of Delhi Commonwealth Games organising committee, say reports.

NEW DELHI: Indian police have arrested the sacked treasurer of the Delhi Commonwealth Games organising committee in connection with an investigation into alleged corruption, reports said on Monday.

M. Jayachandran was arrested Sunday after several rounds of questioning and searches were being carried out at his residence, a spokesman for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency.

The Times of India said the CBI had seized laptops and documents from his office and residence.

The latest action comes a week after police arrested two other top former Games officials over alleged corruption in connection with an event held last year in London, the Queen's Baton Relay.

Sacked organising committee joint director general T. S. Darbari and deputy director general Sanjay Mahendroo were arrested on November 15 after detectives raided their homes.

Police said the two handed out contracts at "exorbitant rates" to two London-based private firms for providing transport services and video screens for the event held in London.

The CBI has slapped charges of forgery, criminal conspiracy and corruption against the two detained officials as well as against owners of London-based companies AM Car and Van Services and AM Films.

Darbari and Mahendroo were sacked by the organising committee's chairman Suresh Kalmadi after the scandal surfaced before the Games opened in October.

Kalmadi quit as secretary to India's ruling Congress party earlier this month following calls for a probe into his alleged role in Games-related corruption.

The budget for the sporting extravaganza ballooned to around six billion dollars but the event was still hit by delays and organisational problems.

The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) national watchdog has also received complaints alleging up to 1.8 billion dollars of Games money was misappropriated.

Months before the event began, the CVC reported a plethora of problems with construction work including the use of poor-quality materials.

In one of the worst incidents, a new footbridge next to the main stadium fell down and injured scores of labourers 10 days ahead of the opening ceremony.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh set up a panel to investigate claims of financial irregularities and two other government bodies are also running separate probes.