NEW DELHI, Nov 27:
Three former CWG Organising Committee (OC) officials, accused in a graft case related to the alleged financial bungling during the 2009 Queen’s Baton Relay in London before the games here, today appeared in a Delhi court in response to the summonses issued against them.
Former Commonwealth Games (CWG) OC Joint Director General T S Darbari, Deputy Director General (DDG) Sanjay Mahendroo and Treasurer M Jaychandran appeared before Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh.
The court supplied the documents filed by the CBI along with the charge sheet to all the accused and fixed the matter for December 14 for scrutiny of documents.
Meanwhile, the judge also allowed the plea of UK-based businessman Ashish Patel, another accused in the case, for exemption from personal appearance for the day as he could not appear in the court due to health reasons.
Besides these four accused persons, two UK-based firms of Patel—A M Car and Van Hire Ltd and A M Films—are also accused in the case.
The CBI, in its charge sheet, had alleged that OC members had conspired to award contracts for local transportation and other services to Patel’s firms at exorbitant rates during the 2009 Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) event held in London.
The former OC officials have been booked for the alleged irregularities in payments made to the UK-based firm A M Car and Van Hire Ltd for transportation services during the QBR.
While A M Films was awarded the work of installing three video screens near the Buckingham Palace during the event, A M Cars was given the contract for providing logistics, the CBI had said.
The accused have been booked for various offences under the IPC, including those of criminal conspiracy, cheating and forgery besides the violations of the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The court had earlier issued summonses to all the accused after taking cognisance of the CBI charge sheet filed against them.
“I have gone through the documents filed with the charge sheet. There is sufficient material to take cognisance of the offences mentioned in the charge sheet against the four accused persons and two companies,” the judge had said.
The CBI had lodged two separate cases against the ex-OC officials but had filed a combined charge sheet in the court.
Darbari, Mahendroo and Jaychandran were earlier arrested in 2010 but were released on bail as the CBI had not been able to file the charge sheet within the statutory time limit of 60 days after the arrest of the accused in corruption cases. (PTI)
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