CBI to present six persons, including SAI Director SK Sharma, in court over alleged corruption charges

NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Friday will produce the six persons, including Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director SK Sharma, in Patiala House Court on alleged graft charges.

The probe agency has arrested six persons – four public servants and two private persons – on Thursday for alleged corruption within the transport department in the SAI. The arrests followed after the agency carried out a raid at the SAI office at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in the national capital. CBI later sealed the entire premises, sources in the SAI said.

Besides Sharma, the CBI arrested junior account officer Harendra Prasad, billing section supervisor Lalit Joli, upper division clerk VK Sharma and two private persons – Mandeep Ahuja and his employee Yunis. 

The official said that the agency had received information about payment of graft to the SAI officials to clear bills worth Rs 19 lakh. Three per cent of Rs 19 lakh was demanded by the officials to clear the bills, added officers.

Sports Minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore said that the government entrusted CBI to investigate the corruption allegations levelled against the sports department officials as transferring them wouldn't have addressed the real problem.

"A few months back, we got information that a few officials of sports department have been involved in corruption. We could have transferred them but that wouldn't have been a solution to the problem but only a cover up," Rathore said on his official twitter handle.

CBI came to know about the matter after SAI Director General Neelam Kapur took up the matter with the CBI.

''The matter came to light before SAI DG 6 months back after which she informed the sports minister. On the insistence of the minister the DG wrote to the CBI,'' a source said.