Not involved in CWG equipment purchases: Kalmadi

New Delhi: Former Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee (OC) chairman Suresh Kalmadi on Thursday told a Delhi court hearing a corruption case related to the 2010 sporting event here that he was not involved in procurement of equipment.

He said that the OC only gave recommendations for buying timing, scoring and result (TSR) system for the Games and was not involved in the purchase.

Kalmadi's counsel Harshad Ponda told Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Special Judge Talwant Singh that neither Kalmadi nor the OC were involved in the process of procurement of equipments.

Kalmadi said that the OC only gave recommendations for buying timing, scoring and result (TSR) system for the Games.

He said that Swiss Timing was held to be the best and reliable TSR system by various committees, consisting of senior government officials and members of the national and international federations.

"There was a recommendation by members of international federation in a meeting held in March 2009 that Swiss Timing had the best and reliable system," said the defence counsel.

Ponda said various committees were constituted and they took the decision after going through all the details.

Kalmadi will continue his arguments on charge May 26.

The CBI in its first charge sheet in the case against Kalmadi and 10 others described him as a prime accused and the mastermind in the corruption case related to financial irregularities in awarding the Rs.141 crore contract for a scoring system.

The accused officials and two companies were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for cheating, criminal conspiracy and forgery and under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

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