Lokpal scraps controversial tender to buy 7 BMW cars
New Delhi (PTI): Anti-graft ombudsman Lokpal has cancelled its controversial tender to procure seven luxury BMW cars, collectively worth around Rs 5 crore, two months after it was floated, officials said on Thursday.
The move assumes significance as opposition parties and civil society activists had slammed the Lokpal's decision to procure the high-end vehicles.
Officials said the decision to cancel the procurement offer was taken following a resolution of the full bench of the Lokpal, after which a corrigendum was issued by it dated December 16, 2025.
The Lokpal had, on October 16, 2025, floated a request for proposal seeking bids from reputed agencies for the supply of seven BMW 3 Series 330Li cars.
The procurement was intended to provide a vehicle each for the chairperson and six members of the Lokpal, currently headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar (retd). The Lokpal is headed by a chairperson and can have a maximum of eight members -- four each judicial and non-judicial.
The tender had specified BMW 330Li "M Sport" models with "long wheelbase" in white colour for procurement. The on-road price of the proposed cars in New Delhi was estimated at around Rs 5 crore.
The Lokpal's decision had drawn sharp criticism from the opposition parties, who accused the "guardians of integrity" of "chasing luxury over legitimacy".
Congress general secretary in-charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, had dubbed the institution "Shauq Pal", while former Niti Aayog Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant had demanded that the Lokpal cancel the tender and opt for electric vehicles manufactured in India.
According to the tender document, the selected vendor/firm was required to conduct a comprehensive practical and theoretical training programme for the drivers and other designated staff members of the Lokpal to ensure efficient, safe and optimal operation of the BMW vehicles.
It had also mentioned both classroom sessions and on-road practical sessions, covering "familiarisation with all controls, features and safety systems of the BMW 330Li M Sport", "hands-on operational training, including start-up, parking, and emergency handling" and "understanding of fuel efficiency parameters and driving modes", among others, for the drivers.
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Two injuries, one DNF, a DQ as India end messy World Relays campaign
Gaborone (Botswana) (PTI): Amoj Jacob and Ragul Kumar got injured during the men's 4x400m and 4x100 races respectively as India ended their World Athletics Relays campaign in disappointment on the second day of competitions here on Sunday.
The Indian camp had high hopes of making the 2027 World Championships in the men's 4x400m relay but the team did not finish (DNF) the race as Jacob suffered cramps and pulled out of the race after taking the baton from the first leg runner Dharamveer Choudhary. Rajesh Ramesh and Vishal TK were to run in the third and fourth legs.
Those teams which could not qualify for the 2027 Beijing World Championships by reaching the final round of each of the six relay events on Saturday were given another chance in the second qualification round on Sunday.
The top two teams in each of the two heats (in all six relay events) booked the Beijing ticket on Sunday.
India will now have to try and qualify for the World Championships through the Top Lists of the World Athletics, which is a long and tedious process.
In the men's 4x100m race, third leg runner Ragul Kumar fell down the track after failing to hand over the baton inside the exchange zone to fourth leg runner Gurindervir Singh, which clearly showed the lack of coordination among the runners.
Harsh Santosh Raut and Animesh Kujur ran the first two legs.
The Indian quartet was disqualified and Kumar was seen being taken away from the Field of Play with the help of the volunteers.
It was a comedy of errors in the case of the women's 4x100m race, which saw the baton being dropped during an exchange between first leg runner Tamanna and second runner Nithya Gandhe, though the Indians finished the race in 53.09 seconds.
Gandhe started running quite a distance, but after realising that the baton was not in her hand, she turned and ran back to pick it up.
The only silver-lining for the Indian contingent was the national record time in the mixed 4x100m relay race, though the quartet of Ragul Kumar, Nithya Gandhe, Animesh Kujur and Sneha SS finished sixth in heat number two with a time of 41.35 seconds, bettering the previous national mark of 42.30 seconds set in March in Chandigarh.
The mixed 4x400m relay quartet of Theerthesh P Shetty, Kumari Saloni, Nihal William and Rashdeep Kaur ended at fifth in heat number one with a time of 3 minutes and 19.40 seconds.
On Saturday, all the five Indian relay teams had failed to make it to the respective final rounds and thus missed out on the 2027 World Championships berths.
