The affairs of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee (CWG OC) remain mired in intrigue. A day after the CWG executive board decided to suspend tainted joint director- general T. S. Darbari and deputy director- general Sanjay Mohindroo, it has come to light that the probe panel had actually recommended their sacking.
The three- member committee was appointed by OC chairman Suresh Kalmadi to probe the Queen’s Baton Relay scam in London last October. It is learnt that OC chief executive officer Jarnail Singh, special director- general (finance) G. C. Chaturvedi and chief vigilance officer Gurjyot Kaur had submitted that Darbari and Mohindroo “ be sacked” as they had played big roles in the scam.
However, Ram Mohan, a legal expert of the OC, said at the executive board meeting that since the ED was probing the case, “ it was not possible to sack the two”. So the question now being asked in the corridors of power is whether someone is trying to shield Darbari, who has been a powerful aide of Kalmadi.
Insiders revealed on the condition of anonymity that three days ago Darbari was actually threatening OC members against taking any drastic action against him, saying that “ he would expose them all”. On Friday, the sports ministry also slammed the OC for letting Darbari and Mohindroo get away with just “ a suspension”. Sources said the ministry has written a letter to the OC stating that the two should be sacked.
The letter says: “ In the light of this position where the nation’s prestige is at stake, placing the two officers... under suspension is not adequate. They should be relieved immediately...” The sports ministry has also written to revenue secretary Sunil Mitra that prompt action should be taken against Darbari as there is already a customs case pending against him.
It may be recalled that in January, Darbari was accused of smuggling a ring worth Rs 40 lakh into India through a courier.
Sources said the letter to Mitra notes that since the inquiry into it is still on and with the new case relating to the baton scam also out in the open now, the cases should be solved at the earliest.
Another interesting aspect in the OC scandal relates to M. Jaychandran of the finance and accounts committee, who was also suspended on Thursday. He had apparently worked with Kalmadi when the latter was the minister of state for railways in 1995- 96 in the P. V. Narasimha Rao government.
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