CWG organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi's close aide Sanjay Mahendroo, who had been arrested for alleged bunglings in the Queen's Baton relay in London in 2009, was released here on bail on Saturday evening following a court order.
The sources said the CBI raids started early in the morning and are focussed on four companies, which had acted as the Indian arm for the same number of international firms. The contracts were bagged by consortium of foreign and Indian firms.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday dismissed the bail plea of former Commomwealth Games Organising Committee Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, accused of favouring a Swiss firm in a contract that led to a loss of over Rs 90 crore to the exchequer.
'I am a lover of Hinduism, a lover of Jainism, Buddhism and other religions that were born in India, but we need to protect the rights of all people there. Whether they're Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Jews, Christians, Jains'
'What you need is a credible Opposition, a credible platform to persuade people to believe that it can replace this government.'
President Pratibha Patil, not Prince Charles, will officially declare the Commonwealth Games open in Delhi on Sunday. This is the first time the royal family has been denied the traditional honour, the Daily Mail claimed.
First images from the Commonwealth Games.
The Central Bureau of Investigation was allowed by a Delhi court to quiz two former top officials of CWG Organising Committee, Lalit Bhanot and V K Verma, in custody for five days in connection with alleged irregularities in the Rs 107- crore deal with a Swiss firm for supply of timing, scoring and result (TSR) systems.
The Central Bureau of Investigation's probe into the Commonwealth Games scam on Wednesday came under the scanner, with a Delhi court asking it why the agency has not arrested the officials of the Organising Committee, who allegedly accepted huge bribes for awarding contracts at exorbitant rates."Why are you not arresting the receivers of the bribe amount," Special CBI Judge O P Saini said.
The Organising Committee of the games (CWG-OC) hopes to foster business ties with other Commonwealth nations and is in talks with South Africa, Scotland, Australia and the United Kingdom to sign agreements in the areas of IT, pharmaceuticals and tourism.
Coupled with the fact that arms were recovered at the instance of Jamir, there is also evidence showing running of parallel government which was never acknowledged under any peace accord, the judge said.
The embattled organising committee of the Delhi Commonwealth Games on Tuesday claimed that it has cleared dues, amounting to Rs 111.84 crore, to 36 of the 45 foreign companies involved with the conduct of the event held last year.
T S Darbari, a close associate of the CWG organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi, was granted bail by the Delhi High Court after the Central Bureau of Investigation failed to file the chargesheet against him for alleged bunglings in the Queen Baton's relay in London in 2009.
A team of CBI officers reached his residence in south Kolkata's Chetla area along with a large contingent of central forces in the morning, officials said.
"I am innocent till proven guilty," a beleaguered Suresh Kalmadi said after CBI raided his house in New Delhi and questioned him for eight hours over allegations of bungling in the conduct of the sporting extravaganza.
Amritpal Singh has been styling himself on the lines of terrorist Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, who was killed during Operation Blue Star in 1984, by copying his attire, mannerisms, carrying an arrow, keeping a battery of armed bodyguards and taking the shield of religion.
The Congress is sending Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, senior leaders Bhupinder Hooda and Rajeev Shukla to Himachal Pradesh on Thursday with the possibility of the party getting a majority in the hill state.
A Delhi court on Saturday sent former CWG Organising Committee official M Jayachandran to 11 days' judicial custody in the case related to alleged financial bungling in conduct of the Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) in London last year.
On the third day after Rahul Gandhi's disqualification from the Wayanad seat, Youth Congress was organising a night march.
The meeting of the Congress' top decision-making body has been convened after demands from some quarters within the party to discuss important issues, including some defections in the recent past.
Haridwar Kotwali police station SHO Rakender Singh Kathait said on Wednesday, "We have sent notices of appearance to Rizvi and Sadhvi Annapurna so far. A notice may also be sent to Dharamdas who is the third one named in the FIR lodged in this connection."
Legendary athlete Milkha Singh on Monday lashed out at the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (OC) for not giving former sportspersons a prominent place during the spectacular opening ceremony of the Games in New Delhi on Sunday.
Organising Committee Commonwealth Games 2010 Delhi Chairman Suresh Kalmadi said he was happy with the progress made in the Games Village as it got ready to welcome the first of the 7000 athletes and team officials who will reside there during the Commonwealth Games.
Congress leader Sachin Pilot on Thursday expressed happiness that the Congress party has taken cognisance of the issues raised by him about welfare of youth and corruption under the previous Vasundhara Raje government in Rajasthan, and asserted the party will contest the assembly polls unitedly to secure a massive victory.
Six-time world champion MC Mary Kom has decided to join the rest of India's Olympic-bound boxing team in Italy for training to avoid the added restrictions on those travelling to Tokyo from India amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
For those having any 'fear or doubt' in their mind, Tharoor said, the party has made it clear that it will be a secret ballot.
In what would come as music to the ears of an embattled Organising Committee, Australia is planning to send its largest-ever delegation of over 600 athletes and officials, including Olympic and world champions, for next year's Commonwealth Games in New Delhi.
Officials said security personnel, including those from paramilitary forces, have been deployed to keep a strict vigil. Security at inter-state and inter-district borders has also been tightened, they said.
Bhujbal said Sharad Pawar announced support to the BJP in 2014 after it formed government following the Assembly polls without the Shiv Sena's backing.
As an admirer of Japan for close to half a century, I care for Japan and expect Suga to respect the sentiment of his people and cancel the Olympics without further delay, says Rajaram Panda.
Leaders of 24 non-BJP parties have been invited for the meet on June 17 and 18, the first edition of which saw the participation of 15 parties.
The committee advising the wrestlers have set a deadline for the arrest of the WFI President Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh.
A total of 11 countries are boycotting the championships due to the inclusion of Russian and Belarusian boxers.
According to the organising committee of the Commonwealth Games, orders have been placed with Tata Motors for nearly 1,800 cars during the games and some more cars, jeeps and trucks for the Queen Baton Relay that would commence its nationwide run from June 25.
A couple of months back the Games Organising Committee announced on its web site that it hiring staff for various positions. But with exactly 373 days for the Games to open it is still to enlist the required people.
The Myanmar armed forces had launched two aerial attacks targeting Camp Victoria, the military headquarters of CNA located close to the India-Myanmar border, on January 10 and 11.
The three wushu fighters from Arunachal Pradesh were issued stapled visas instead of stamped ones, India's foreign ministry said.
The raids, as per official sources, began at 3:30 am and involved as many as 300 NIA officials from across its various offices.
After a successful Commonwealth Games, India should wait for a while before taking a final call on hosting an Olympic Games, feels legendary British runner Sebastian Coe.
China has blocked a proposal by the US and India at the United Nations to blacklist Abdul Rauf Azhar, the brother of Jaish-e Mohammed (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and the deputy chief of the Pakistan-based terror group, in the second such move by Beijing in less than two months.
