Indian Olympic Association backs Kalmadi, says Trilochan Singh

RANCHI - Indian Olympic Association (IOA) Vice President Trilochan Singh on Saturday defended IOA President Suresh Kalmadi, and said that he will remain in his post till 2012.

“He (Kalmadi) is president till end of 2012. There is an election process, and no one can remove him like this,” Singh said.

“I am no one to comment individually. After all, he is an elected president,” he added.

After being sacked as the Chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, a defiant Kalmadi had earlier said that he would not step down from his post of IOA President.

“Commonwealth Games were organized in an excellent manner, we got the maximum number of medals ever and the whole world is talking about how India organized the games. Now the Commonwealth Games are over and it has nothing to do with Indian Olympic Association,” Kalmadi had said.

Kalmadi, who was under fire for alleged financial mismanagement in the conduct of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, has been removed as the Chairman of Commonwealth Games Organising Committee.

Kalmadi’s close aide and Commonwealth Games Organising Committee Secretary General Lalit Bhanot has also been removed with immediate effect.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on January 6 had carried out raids on Kalmadi’s aides and companies that were connected to the overlays in the sporting event.

Carrying out the raids at ten locations across Delhi and NCR, the investigating agency lodged a fourth FIR in connection with the financial irregularities during the conduct of the sporting extravaganza.

The CBI had earlier conducted raids at Kalmadi’s home and offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, as part of its ongoing investigations into the multi-crore sporting extravaganza.

The raids were conducted in the wake of reports that some crucial documents related to Commonwealth Games deals were missing. (ANI)