CWG scam: Suresh Kalmadi, others pre-decided to award contract to Swiss Timing, says CBI

NEW DELHI: The CBI today told a Delhi court that sacked Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi and others had decided to award the contract for installing the Timing, Scoring and Results system for the 2010 Commonwealth Games to Swiss Timing even before it bid for it.

Advancing arguments on framing of charges in the case, CBI prosecutor V K Sharma said Kalmadi and other co-accused former OC Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, Director General V K Verma and Joint Director General (Sports) A S V Prasad were "pressurising" that contract should be given to Swiss Timing.

The prosecutor referred to the statements of prosecution witnesses made before the CBI and said co-accused P D Arya and A K Madan, the promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International, were visiting CWG organising committee since January 2009 for the contract and they used to convince officials that Swiss Timing was a "good company".

The prosecutor also argued that two bids were received for TSR contract from Swiss Timing and MSL Spain and the same were opened on November 4, 2009 but Kalmadi and Verma had on October 12, 2009 announced in a meeting that the contract would be awarded to Swiss Timing.

"One of the prosecution witnesses had said that Verma had announced the decision to give the contract to the Swiss firm on October 12, 2009 in the general assembly meeting with the representatives of Commonwealth Games federation. When Verma was making the announcement of the contract, Kalmadi was also sitting on the dias," he said.