I am innocent, says Kalmadi

NEW DELHI - Hours after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) raided his homes, Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi maintained Friday that he had done no wrong in the organisation of the October event.

He also told reporters that he had no idea what CBI officials had taken away from his home, one of the places that CBI teams raided in New Delhi, Pune and Mumbai in connection with charges of financial wrongdoing in the Oct 3-14 Games.

“I have always said that we had a very successful Commonwealth Games. I am ready, the Organising Committee is ready for any investigation,” he said outside the gates of his New Delhi residence.

But Kalmadi, who is also president of the Indian Olympic Association, underlined that he was only concerned with “three-to-four percent”, or Rs.1,500 crore, of the entire amount allocated for the Games that drew nearly 7,000 athletes and officials from 71 countries and territories.

“I offered them full cooperation,” he said, referring to the CBI team.

He said the CBI searched his house in New Delhi and Pune, the Organising Committee office in New Delhi, and his brother’s house in Mumbai. “Everywhere they were given full cooperation.”

Asked about charges that some Games documents had gone missing, he suggested that they may have been taken away by some other official agency. “If any documents are missing, we will give them that also.”

What have they taken from his residence, he was asked. He replied: “I don’t know… They have given me a list.”

Asked why the CBI raided his house if he was innocent, he shot back: “You should ask them.”