ED to seek court's permission to question Kalmadi

[1]

The Enforcement Directorate will soon seek the court's permission to question sacked CWG Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi who was recently arrested by CBI on charges of cheating, conspiracy and corruption in the Commonwealth Games scam.

Sources said the agency will question Kalmadi in connection with the money laundering and foreign exchange cases that it has registered in the overlays and the Queens Baton Relay (QBR) scams.

Kalmadi is in CBI custody at present after he was arrested by the agency on April 25 for allegedly awarding a contract for the Time-Score-Result of the Games to a Swiss company at an inflated rate of Rs 141 crore in a 'pre-meditated' manner.

"The competent court will be moved to question Kalmadi. His questioning is vital in connection with all the cases registered in the CWG scam as he was the officiating authority in all the cases," ED sources said.

The agency has also asked Kalmadi to furnish details of bank accounts, movable and immovable properties, instances of foreign travel before the Commonwealth Games held last year, and transactions of foreign exchange in the last few years.

Sources said Kalmadi has asked for a few weeks' time to furnish these details to the ED.

The CBI had registered a case under section 120B (conspiracy) read with Section 420 (cheating) IPC and other relevant sections of Prevention of Corruption Act in the case which it said resulted to a loss of Rs 95 crore to the exchequer.