Income Tax conducts nationwide raids to probe alleged irregularities in Commonwealth Games contracts
New Delhi: To probe alleged financial irregularities in Commonwealth
Games contracts, the Income Tax Department on Thursday carried out a nationwide
raid on more than 50 premises of various companies. Over 50 premises spread
across Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, Jamshedpur, Kolkata and National Capital
Region were the focus of the raiding teams comprising over 300 officials, said official
sources. A large number of documents pertaining to contracts awarded in connection
with the Games have been seized during today's raids. On Oct.19, the Income Tax
department had carried out similar searches on four major consortia, including those
related to Bharatiya Janata Party member Sudhanshu Mittal.
In Delhi, tax officials raided the offices of Shiv Naresh Sports Pvt Ltd and
Satya Prakash Construction. Satya Prakash Constructions
provided landscaping services for the Games and at the offices of Shiv
Naresh Sports provided tracksuits for the event. With the Commonwealth
Games over and demands for probe for mounting, Prime Minister Dr Manmohan
Singh had on October 15 appointed a high-level committee headed by former
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) VK Shunglu to look into allegations of
corruption related to the mega sporting event. The committee will submit its report to
the Prime Minister within three months. The Prime Minister's office has promised that
those who 'shamed the country' through corrupt practices will be punished.
Meanwhile, different agencies, including the Enforcement Directorate have been
asked to uncover a multitude of financial misdeeds that range from payments being
made to companies that don't exist, to contracts that allowed those hired for the
Games to escape with severely over-priced equipment and services. There are
further reports that raids are being conducted at around 60 venues in the cities of
Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Jamshedpur to find out the mammoth corruption linked to the Commonwealth Games.
