The CBI has taken into custody six officers and private persons in connection with a case of alleged corruption in the Sports Authority of India, officials said. The arrests were made during searches at the sports administrator's office in Delhi's Lodhi Road area, they said.
The agency has arrested Director Sports Authority of India S K Sharma, Junior Accounts Officer Harinder Prasad, Supervisor Lalit Jolly and UDC V K Sharma, besides private contractor Mandeep Ahuja and his employee Yunus, the officials said.
Reacting to this development, Minister of State Youth Affairs & Sports, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore tweeted, We're committed to a corruption-free India. That's why when we found out corrupt practices by a few officers in Dept of Sports, Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports, we gave their info to relevant agencies, who arrested them today.
It is alleged that bills of Rs 19 lakh were pending to be cleared by the SAI officials for which a demand of three per cent was being made.
The Central Bureau of Investigation officials reached the SAI headquarters at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium around 5 pm and sealed the entire premises for search and questioning of the alleged staffers, sources in the SAI said.
Speaking about the CBI raid, SAI Director General Neelam Kapoor told the news agency, "There is zero tolerance for corruption in SAI. We will support any action against corruption."Â According to ANI, reports regarding the bribery allegations were received almost two months following which the CBI was asked to probe the charges.
The search operation is still underway.
(With agency inputs)
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