Police stopped from seizing property of Commonwealth Games scam accused

A Delhi court today stopped Faridabad Police from attaching the properties of two Haryana businessmen, arrested for their alleged role in an illegal award of a Commonwealth Games contract to a Swiss firm.

Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh stopped police from confiscating properties of businessmen PD Arya and AK Madan, the promoters of Faridabad-based Gem International, while also extending their judicial custody till September 15, along with those of seven other accused, including sacked Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

Others whose judicial custody were extended included Commonwealth Games OC's Director General VK Verma, Secretary General Lalit Bhanot, Director General (Procurement) Surjit Lal, Joint Director General (Sports) ASV Prasad, Treasurer M Jayachandran and Hyderabad businessmen AK Reddy.

Restraining police to stop its process of attaching properties of Madan and Arya, the court directed the in-charge of Faridabad Sector 12 police station to return the warrants, issued for attachment of the properties.

For evading their arrest, the court had declared Madan and Arya proclaimed offenders and had subsequently ordered the attachment of their properties, but after they surrendered before the court and pleaded to stop the seizure process, the court acceded to their requests.

The warrants to attach the duo's properties were issued by the court on August 16 but on the same day the duo had surrendered before the court.

Following the court's direction, Faridabad Police told it that it had communicated the development of the case to its deputy commissioner and asked him to return the warrants.

Meanwhile, the court also asked the accused persons to file their replies by the next date of hearing to a CBI plea for separation of the trial of accused firm Swiss Timing Omega, which was allegedly illegally awarded the games contract for installing the Timing, Scoring and Result system at inflated rates.

"In the interest of the other accused who are already before the court and keeping in mind the duty of prosecution to ensure a speedy trial, which is also in accordance with the mandate of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the prosecution is seeking separation of trial as in all likelihood the submission of accused ie Swiss Timing to the jurisdiction of this court is likely to take considerable time," the CBI said in its plea.

The court, after receiving a photocopy of a blank cheque signed by Lalit Bhanot, directed him not to sign any blank document and cheque and asked him to first fill all the particulars and only then sign them.

Kalmadi and other co-accused stand accused of allegedly granting the contract illegally to Swiss Timing causing a loss of over Rs90 crore to the exchequer.