2010 CWG 'scam': Delhi court accepts ED closure report in case against Suresh Kalmadi
New Delhi, Apr 28 (PTI): Bringing down curtains on a 13-year-old case, a Delhi court on Monday accepted the Enforcement Directorate's closure report in a money laundering case against Suresh Kalmadi, the former head of the organising committee of 2010 Commonwealth Games and then secretary general Lalit Bhanot and others.
The acceptance of the closure report brings to end the money laundering angle in the alleged scam, which took place 15 years ago.
The allegations of corruption in conducting the 2010-Commonwealth Games (CWG) triggered a huge political uproar in the country, leading to filing of several criminal and money laundering cases, including the present one.
Kalmadi and others were accused of misconduct in award and execution of two important contracts for the games.
Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal noted the CBI had already closed the corruption case, based on which the ED started its money laundering probe and accepted the report, which also named CWG OC's then COO, Vijay Kumar Gautam, its then treasurer, A K Matto, Event Knowledge Service (EKS), Switzerland, and CEO, Craig Gordon MeLatchey.
The judge noted ED's submission that the offence of money laundering was not found during its investigation.
"Since during the investigations, the prosecution has failed to make out a offence under section 3 (money laundering) of the PMLA... as no offence under section 3 of the PMLA has been made out or has been committed, despite discreet investigations by the ED, therefore, there is no reason to continue with the present ECIR, as a consequence, the closure report filed by the ED stands accepted," the judge held.
The sole money laundering investigation was initiated by the ED based on the case lodged by the CBI.
According to the CBI, the works contracts related to Commonwealth Games were Games Workforce Service (GWS) and Games Planning, Project & Risk Management Services (GPPRMS).
An undue pecuniary gain was caused by the accused persons to the to the consortium of EKS and Ernst and Young, by way of awarding the two contracts in a deliberate and wrongful manner and caused corresponding loss of Rs 30 crore to OC, CWG, the CBI alleged.
The CBI later filed a closure report in January 2014, saying "no incriminating evidence surfaced during the investigation in the matter" and the allegations in the FIR could not be substantiated against the accused persons.
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Bus helper held for stealing USD 1,600 from Iranian woman's purse in Delhi; money recovered
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has arrested a bus helper and recovered USD 1,600 that was allegedly stolen from the purse of an Iranian woman who had forgotten it on a private bus at ISBT Kashmere Gate, an official said on Sunday.
The incident came to light on December 15, when a complaint was lodged at the ISBT Kashmere Gate police post by Dr Ali Akbar Shah, a professor at Delhi University and a resident of Mukherjee Nagar, the police said.
He informed police that his guest, Fareshteh Sayanjali, an Iranian national, had arrived in India on December 13 and was staying at his residence, they said.
The woman had travelled to Uttarakhand's Rishikesh and was returning to Delhi on December 15 in a bus. While de-boarding at ISBT Kashmere Gate around 1.45 pm, she inadvertently left her purse on the bus seat, the police officer said.
After some time, she received a phone call from the bus operator informing her that the purse had been found in the vehicle. However, when the purse was handed back to her, she discovered that USD 1,600 in cash kept inside was missing," the officer added.
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Based on Dr Shah's statement, an FIR was registered at Kashmere Gate police station on December 16, and an investigation was taken up, police said.
During the investigation, the team questioned the driver and conductor of the bus in which the woman had travelled, police said.
During questioning, the conductor told police that Monish, the bus helper, found the purse lying abandoned on a seat and handed it over to him, police said.
Monish initially attempted to mislead the investigators, but later confessed to stealing the US dollars from the purse, police said
Following his disclosure, Monish was arrested on December 17 and recovered the entire stolen amount, police said.
The accused, Monish, 26, is a resident of Jahangirpuri in north Delhi.
He has studied up to Class 10 and has been working as a helper with the private bus service for the past year, they said.
