CWG scam: CBI opposes bail plea of OC official

New Delhi, Jun 9 (PTI) The Central Bureau of
Investigation (CBI), India's premier investigation agency,
Thursday opposed the bail plea of former official of
Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee, M Jaychandran,
an accused in the games-related scam, accusing him of
manipulating the minutes of the Finance committee to justify
the alleged forgery in the award of a contract.
The agency accused Jayachandran, former joint director
general of accounts and finance in OC, of being "guilty of
wilful and repeated falsification of records" and also of not
revealing the true facts about the false statement made by V K
Verma, Director General OC, regarding the budgetry provision
of TSR (Timing, Scoring and Result system) contract.
Verma is also an accused in the case and is presently
lodged in Tihar Jail along with others including sacked OC
Chairman Suresh Kalmadi.
However, Jaychandran contended that he cannot be held
responsible for the alleged wrongdoings in the TSR contract as
he was just the secretary of the OCFC and the award of
contract was the decision of all the members of committee.
"If 7-8 persons in the finance committee have
unanimously taken the decision, then how can CBI pick and
choose just me out of them," his counsel submitted before
Special CBI Judge Talwant Singh.
However, the CBI said, "as the member secretary of the
OCFC, Jaychandran manipulated and falsified the minutes of the
OCFC on a number of occasions to justify the forgery in the
approved Request for Proposal for the TSR".
"Accused in furtherance of the conspiracy to cheat the
government prepared false minutes and as member secretary
signed and authenticated them as genuine minutes. He also
changed the approved and finalized minutes of OCFC and
falsified them," the agency contended.
It said he also headed the Finance and Accounts in
OCFC and deliberately misinformed government authorities and
officials regarding the financial clauses in various
documents, the commerical proposal of Swiss Timing, the
proposed contract to be made with Swiss timing regarding TSR
and the impact of such clauses on the OC.
"The accused deliberately did not bring on record that
Swiss Timing had violated RPF conditions regarding commercial
bids and was liable to be rejected," it said.
He also did not inform the Executive Board of OC and
other bodies as to the huge excess cost and burden that will
have to be borne by OC on account of such terms and conditions
in violation of RPF, the CBI said.
The investigating agency also alleged that Jaychandran
did not reveal to the government that the cost of the TSR
contract proposed to be done with the Swiss firm far exceeded
the budgetray provision and there were no funds to accomodate
that contract.
"When accused V K Verma made false statement
regarding the budgetary provision for TSR in the executive
board, accused Jaychandran deliberately did not reveal the
true facts," CBI said.
The CBI urged the court that Jaychandran be denied
bail since "he was a very senior government official of the
rank equivalent to joint secretary and held a high position in
the OC CWG 2010 while a number of witnesses who will depose
in the case are his subordinates or much junior to him."
"The role of Jaychandran is of a serious nature. If
left free at this crucial stage of investigation he is likely
to tamper with the evidence and influence vital witnesses. He
only appeared when a non-bialable warrant (NBW) was issued
against him and is likely to flee as it has now become clear
to him that his role in the conspiracy has been exposed," the
CBI said.
Countering CBI's allegation that he had joined the
investigation only after an NBW was issued against him,
Jaychandran said he had not joined the probe because he had
not got any place to stay in Delhi and also because of
ill-health and mental condition.
The court had issued NBW against Jayachandran on May
23 after the CBI submitted that he is not cooperating in the
investigation and has stopped appearing before it after his
role surfaced as an accused in the case.
Jaychandran surrendered before the court on June 3 and
was sent to Tihar jail under judicial custody. He was later
remanded to CBI custody on June 6 for three days on the plea
that he had to be interrogated in custody to unearth the money
trail in the scam as besides being the OC treasurer, he was
also the secretary of its sub-panel on finance that dealt with
the money transactions.