Commonwealth Games Scam

INTRODUCTION

ABOUT
The Commonwealth Games (known as the British Empire Games from
19301950, the British Empire and Commonwealth Games from 1954
1966, and British Commonwealth Games from 19701974) is an
international, multi-sport event involving athletes from the Commonwealth
of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942
and 1946, which were cancelled due to World War II, has taken place every
four years since then.
The games are overseen by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF),
which also controls the sporting programme and selects the host cities. A
host city is selected for each edition. 18 cities in seven countries have hosted
the event. Apart from many Olympic sports, the games also include some
sports that are played predominantly in Commonwealth countries, such as
lawn bowls and netball.
Although there are 53 members of the Commonwealth of Nations, 71 teams
participate in the Commonwealth Games, as a number of dependent
territories compete under their own flag. The four Home Nations of the
United KingdomEngland, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Irelandalso
send separate teams. Only six teams have attended every Commonwealth
Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland, and Wales.

Commonwealth Games Scam

Australia has been the highest achieving team for twelve games, England for
seven, and Canada for one.

STORY OF THE GAMES

The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada
where 11 countries sent 400 athletes to take part in 6 sports and 59 events.
Bobby Robinson, a major influence within athletics in Canada at the time,
finally implemented the event that had been talked about amongst
Commonwealth nations for over thirty years with the City of Hamilton
providing $30,000 to help cover travelling costs of the participating nations.
Since then, the Games have been conducted every four years (except for
1942 and 1946 due to World War II) and the event has seen many changes,
not least in its name. From 1930 to 1950 the Games were known as the
British Empire Games, from 1954 until 1966 the British Empire and
Commonwealth Games and from 1970 to 1974 they took on the title of
British Commonwealth Games. It was the 1978 Games in Edmonton that
saw this unique, world class, multi-sports event change its name to the
Commonwealth Games.
Often referred to as the Friendly Games only single competition sports had
been on the programme from 1930 up to and including the 1994 Games in
Victoria. The 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur saw the introduction of team
sports with nations taking part in cricket (50 over game), hockey (men and
women), netball (women) and rugby 7's (men). In Manchester in 2002
hockey, netball and rugby 7's graced the programme again and at the 2006
Games in Melbourne basketball accompanied hockey, netball and rugby 7's
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Commonwealth Games Scam

on the programme. In Delhi in 2010hockey, netball and rugby 7s again

featured.
The 2002 Games in Manchester also saw for the first time, indeed at any
multi-sport event in the world, a limited number of full medal events for
elite athletes with a disability (EAD) in a fully inclusive sports programme.
This continued in Melbourne where EAD athletes took part in athletics,
swimming, table tennis and powerlifting.
In the year 2000 the CGF took on the added responsibility of the
Commonwealth Youth Games, open to athletes 18 years of age and under the
Youth Games provide an excellent opportunity for aspiring young athletes
from the Commonwealth with a taste of what the Commonwealth Games
has in store for them in the future. The inaugural Games were
in Edinburgh with the last edition being hosted in 2004 in Bendigo, Australia
with Pune in India in 2008 hosting the 3rd edition. In such a short space of
time the Youth Games has grown in stature and this is evidenced by award
of the 2011 Commonwealth Youth Games to the Isle of Man.
The story of the Games evolved yet again on the 9th November 2007
when Glasgow (Scotland) was awarded the right to host the 2014
Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games Scam

APPROVED SPORTS
There are a total of 22 sports (with two multi-disciplinary sports) and a
further seven para-sports which are approved by the Commonwealth Games
Federation. They are categorised into three types. Core sports must be
included on each programme. A number of optional sports may be picked by
the host nation, which may include some team sports such as basketball.
Recognised sports are sports which have been approved by the CGF but
which are deemed to need expansion; host nations may not pick these sports
for their programme until the CGF's requirements are fulfilled.

Sport

Type

Years

Archery

Optional

1982, 2010

Athletics

Core

1911present

Badminton

Core

1966present

Basketball

Optional

2006, 2018

Billiards

Boxing

Canoeing

Recognise
d
Core
Recognise
d

Never

1911present

Never

Commonwealth Games Scam

Sport
Cricket

Type
Recognise
d

Years
1998

Cycling

Optional

1934present

Diving

Optional

1930present

Fencing

Football

Golf

Gymnastics (Artistic)

Recognise
d
Recognise
d
Recognise
d

19501970

Never

Never

Optional

1978, 1990present

Gymnastics (Rhythmic) Optional

1978, 1990present

Handball

Recognise
d

1930

Hockey

Core

1998present

Judo

Optional

1990, 2002, 2014

Commonwealth Games Scam

Sport

Type

Years

Lawn bowls

Core

1930present (except 1966)

Life saving

Recognise
d

Never

Netball

Core

1998present

Rowing

Optional

1930, 19381962, 1986

Rugby league

Rugby sevens

Sailing

Shooting

Softball

Recognise
d
Core
Recognise
d
Optional
Recognise
d

Never

1998present

Never

1966, 1974present

Never

Squash

Core

1998present

Swimming

Core

1911present

Synchronized

Optional

1986-2006
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Commonwealth Games Scam

Sport

Type

Years

Table tennis

Optional

2002present

Taekwondo

Optional

Never

Tennis

Optional

2010

swimming

Ten-Pin Bowling

Triathlon

Volleyball

Water Polo

Recognise
d
Optional
Recognise
d
Recognise
d

Weightlifting

Core

Wrestling

Optional

1998

2002, 2006, 2014

Never

1950

1950present
19111986, 1994, 2002, 2010-present

Commonwealth Games Scam

COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES
Africa
Botswana

Cameroon

Ghana

Kenya

Lesotho

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Nigeria

Rwanda *

Seychelles

Sierra Leone

South Africa

Swaziland

Tanzania

Uganda

Zambia *

Zimbabwe

Commonwealth Games Scam

Americas
Belize

Bermuda

Canada

Guyana

Newfoundland *

St. Helena

Falkland Islands

Asia
Brunei

Aden *

Bangladesh

India

Malaya *

Malaysia

Maldives

Pakistan

Sabah *

Sarawak *

Singapore

South Arabia *

Sri Lanka

Antigua & Barbuda

Bahamas

Barbados

Cayman Islands

Dominica

Grenada

Montserrat

St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia

Darussalam

Hong Kong *

Caribbean
Anguilla
British

Virgin

Islands
Jamaica

St. Vincent &

The
Grenadines

Trinidad & Tobago

Turks & Caicos

Islands

Commonwealth Games Scam

Europe
Cyprus

England

Gibraltar

Guernsey

Isle of Man

Jersey

Malta

Northern Ireland

Scotland

Wales

Oceania
Australia

Cook Islands

Fiji

Kiribati

Nauru

New Zealand

Niue

Norfolk Island

Samoa

Solomon Islands Tonga

Papua
Guinea
Tuvalu

New

Vanuatu

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Commonwealth Games Scam

SCAM
A number of concerns and controversies surfaced before the 2010
Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India, which received widespread
media coverage both in India (the host nation) and internationally.
The Commonwealth Games was severely criticised by several prominent
Indian politicians and social activists because billions of dollars have been
spent on the sporting event despite the fact that India has one of the world's
largest concentration of poor people. Additionally, several other problems
related to the 2010 Commonwealth Games have been highlighted by Indian
investigative agencies and media outlets; these include serious corruption
by officials of the Games' Organising Committee, delays in the construction
of main Games' venues, infrastructural compromise, possibility of a terrorist
attack, and exceptionally poor ticket sales before the event.

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Commonwealth Games Scam

ANALYSIS I

FORMATION

OF

DEDICATED

INVESTIGATION

COMMITTEE
The day after the conclusion of the Games, the Indian Government
announced the formation of a special committee to probe the allegations of
corruption and mismanagement against the Organising Committee. The
probe committee will be led by former Comptroller and Auditor General of
India VK Shunglu. This probe will be in addition to the Central Bureau of
Investigation, Enforcement Directorate, and Central Vigilance Commission
investigations already underway. The Prime Minister of India, Dr
Manmohan Singh had promised in mid-August, when reports of the
bungling first surfaced, that corrupt officials will be given "severe and
exemplary" punishment after the Games. The probe committee is tasked
with looking into "all aspects of organising and conducting" the Games, and
"to draw lessons from it." It was given three months to submit its report, but
the report was never publicly released. The Indian Sports Ministry has
directed the Organising Committee of the 2010 Commonwealth Games (led
by Suresh Kalmadi), to not release any staffer from their positions till the
probe committee's work is finished.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT
FINANCIAL COSTS
Miloon Kothari, a leading Indian expert on socio-economic development,
remarked that the 2010 Commonwealth Games will create "a negative
financial legacy for the country" and asked "when one in three Indians lives
below the poverty line and 40% of the hungry live in India, when 46% of
India's children and 55% of women are malnourished, does spending billions
of dollars on a 12-day sports event build national pride or is it a matter of
national shame?"
One of the outspoken critics of the Games is Mani Shankar Aiyar, former
Indian Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports. In April 2007, Aiyar
commented that the Games are "irrelevant to the common man" and
criticized the Indian government for sanctioning billions of dollars for the
Games even though India requires massive investment in social
development programs. In July 2010, he remarked that he would be
"unhappy if the Commonwealth Games are successful".
Azim Premji called the 2010 Commonwealth Games a "drain on public
funds" and said that hosting the high-expense Games in India is not justified
given that the country had more important priorities facing it, such as
education, infrastructure and public health.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

Nearly 400,000 people from three large slum clusters in Delhi have been
relocated since 2004. Gautam Bhan, an Indian urban planner with the
University of California-Berkeley, said that the 2010 Commonwealth Games
have resulted in "an unprecedented increase in the degree, frequency and
scale of indiscriminate evictions without proper resettlement. We havent
seen these levels of evictions in the last five years since the Emergency."
In response to a Right to Information (RTI) application filed for study and
statements by civil society groups, a report by the Housing and Land Rights
Network (HLRN) - an arm of the Habitat International Coalition - detailed
the social and environmental consequences of the event. It stated that no
tolerance zones for beggars are enforced in Delhi, and the city has arbitrarily
arrested homeless citizens under the "Bombay Prevention of Begging Act
1959".

LABOUR LAWS VIOLATIONS

Campaigners in India have accused the organisers of enormous and
systematic violations of labour laws at construction sites. Human Rights
Law Network reports that independent investigations have discovered more
than 70 cases where workers have died in accidents at construction sites
since work began. Although official numbers have not been released, it is
estimated that over 415,000 contract daily wage workers are working on
Games projects. Unskilled workers are paid INR85 (US$1.40) to INR100
(US$1.60) per day while skilled workers are paid INR120 (US$2.00) to
INR130 (US$2.10) INR per day for eight hours of work. Workers also state
that they are paid INR134 (US$2.20) to INR150 (US$2.50) for 12 hours of
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Commonwealth Games Scam

work (eight hours plus four hours of overtime). Both these wages contravene
the stipulated Delhi state minimum wage of INR152 (US$2.50) for eight
hours of work. Nearly 50 construction workers have died in the past two
years while employed on Games projects.
These represent violations of the Minimum Wages Act, 1948; Interstate
Migrant Workmen (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Services)
Act 1979, and the constitutionally enshrined fundamental rights per the 1982
Supreme Court of India judgement on Asiad workers. The public have been
banned from the camps where workers live and work a situation which
human rights campaigners say prevents the garnering of information
regarding labour conditions and number of workers.
There have been documented instances of the presence of young children at
hazardous construction sites, due to a lack of child care facilities for women
workers living and working in the labour camp style work sites.
Furthermore, workers on the site of the main Commonwealth stadium have
reportedly been issued with hard hats, yet most work in open-toed sandals
and live in cramped tin tenements in which illnesses are rife. The High Court
of Delhi is presently hearing a public interest petition relating to employers
not paying employees for overtime and it has appointed a four-member
committee to submit a report on the alleged violations of workers rights.
During the construction of the Games Village, there was controversy over
financial mismanagement, profiteering by the Delhi Development Authority
and private real estate companies, and inhumane working conditions.

CHILD LABOUR

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Commonwealth Games Scam

CNN has broadcast evidence showing children, as young as seven, being

used in the construction of the game venues. According to Siddharth Kara,
who provided CNN with the evidence, he documented 14 cases of child
labor within a few days. In reply to a question whether it could have been
just a case of kids being present at the construction site along with their
parents, he replied: "It's not just kids playing in the dirt or using a hammer as
a toy." He further stated about the kids: "They're told to do the work and
they just do the work. They don't know that they should be in school or that
they should be playing."
Even though the New Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit claimed that
nobody had approached her, according to CNN, they had tried to contact her
as far back as 23 July 2010. In spite of repeated attempts, according to them,
no official reply was ever made.

URBAN CHANGE
Mitu Sengupta, a professor of politics at Ryerson University, Canada, points
out that there is a "tradition of using 'urban spectacles' such as the Olympics
and Worlds Fairs to enhance a citys global recognition, image and status,
and to push through controversial policy reforms that might otherwise linger
in the pending file for years (it is easier to undercut local opposition under
the pressure of a fixed deadline and the international spotlight). She writes
that the reforms involved are often "the invention of an affluent, globally
connected minority that is relatively detached from local conditions and the
local population". The 2010 Commonwealth Games, she says, are being
used to invigorate an elite-driven program of urban transformation" that
centers on privatization, securitization, and the construction of "monuments
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Commonwealth Games Scam

to vanity". Sengupta expands upon this argument in a subsequent article in Z

Magazine Amita Baviskar, a professor of sociology at the Institute of
Economic Growth, University of Delhi, makes a similar argument, on how
mega-events, like the Olympics and Commonwealth Games, are used to
advance narrow agendas of urban reform that cater to the middle class and
rich. She focuses on how, in preparation for the Commonwealth Games, the
city's slums were bulldozed in order to make room for shopping malls and
expensive real estate. Writer and activist Gautam Bhan also draws a
connection between the Commonwealth Games and anti-poor urban
development in an article posted on Kafila, an alternative webzine.

SEX SLAVERY AND PROSTITUTION BOOM

There has been a boom in the number of young girls, mostly from
impoverished parts of India, coming to Delhi after being offered jobs by
disguised criminals, only to be taken prisoner and forced into sex slavery.
The number of victims is believed to be in the hundreds. Many brothels have
been running English courses for sex workers and upgrading their facilities
in anticipation of a business upturn during the games. Overseas prostitutes
are also expected to come as tourists and ply their trade. One anti-trafficking
NGO has claimed that there are reports of 40,000 women being brought in
from northeastern India alone. A spokesperson said that recruits from that
part of India were favoured because of their lighter skin. It has been reported
that over 3,000 bar girls in Mumbai have stopped going to work; this has
been blamed on an exodus to Delhi for the Commonwealth Games.

ORGANISATIONAL FAILURE
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Commonwealth Games Scam

VIGILANCE-RELATED

IRREGULARITIES

AND

OVER-

INVOICING
On 28 July 2010, the Central Vigilance Commission, an Indian government
body created to address governmental corruption, released a report showing
irregularities in up to 14 CWG projects. As per official reports, in total 129
works in 71 organisations have been inspected. The detailed preliminary
findings included the award of work contracts at higher prices, poor quality
assurance and management, and work contracts awarded to ineligible
agencies.
There are also allegations of widespread corruption in various aspects of
organising the games including procurement and awarding contracts for
constructing the game venues. The Commonwealth Games Organising
Committee on 5 August 2010 suspended joint director T S Darbari and M
Jayachandran following the report of the three-member panel which was
probing the financial irregularities related to the Queen's Baton Relay.
Also, Organising Committee treasurer Anil Khanna resigned from the post in
the wake of allegations that his son's firm had secured a contract for laying
synthetic courts at a tennis stadium. The GlobalPost news agency reports
that scandals have come to light, such as "shadowy off-shore firms, forged
emails, inexplicable payments to bogus companies and inflated bills for
every purchase from toilet paper to treadmills." Among the alleged
corruption and defrauding of the games budget, toilet paper rolls valued at
$2 were costed at $80, $2 soap dispensers at $60, $98 mirrors at $220,
$11,830 altitude training simulators at $250,190.

PREPARATION DELAYS
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Commonwealth Games Scam

In September 2009, CGF Chief Mike Fennell reported that the games were
at risk of falling behind schedule and that it was "reasonable to conclude that
the current situation poses a serious risk to the Commonwealth Games in
2010". A report by the Indian Government released several months prior
found that construction work on 13 out of the 19 sports venues was behind
schedule.
The Chief of the Indian Olympic Association Randhir Singh has also
expressed his concerns regarding the current state of affairs. Singh has called
for the revamp of the Organising Committee commenting that India now has
to "retrieve the games". Other Indian officials have also expressed dismay at
the ongoing delays but they have stated that they are confident that India
will successfully host the games and do so on time.
As the Times of India reports, all CWG projects were to be completed by
May 2009 and the last year should have been kept for trial runs. The
newspaper further reports that the first stadium was handed over for trial
runs in July 2010 only. To put the delays in perspective, Beijing National
Stadium was completed much ahead of schedule for the 2008 Summer
Olympics, while the venues for 2012 Summer Olympics in London are
scheduled to be delivered one year before the games and the construction of
the venues is on track.
In August 2010, the Cabinet Secretariat took a decision to appoint 10
officers of the rank of Joint and Additional Secretaries to oversee the
progress of the construction of stadiums. Each officer is allocated a stadium
and given the responsibility to ensure that the work completes in time for the
games.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

MASS VOLUNTEER WALKOUT

Around 10,000 of the 22,000 selected volunteers quit, less than a week
before the event. This has been blamed on a lack of training for personnel, or
dissatisfaction with assignments. There are reports that some who have quit
have not returned their uniforms.

POOR TICKET SALES AND ATTENDANCE

The start of the Games saw extremely poor ticket sales, with many venues
near empty. In a press conference, organising chairman Suresh Kalmadi
admitted that there were problems, and blamed empty venues on ticket
booths not being set up outside stadiums. Commonwealth Games chief Mike
Fennell admitted that many venues had been nearly empty on the opening
day of the Games, saying "A number of venues do not have lots of spectators
one area which causes us concern". On the second day of competition, less
than 100 people filled the hockey venuethe 19,000-seat MDC Stadium.
Less than 20 people watched the first tennis match of the tournament in the
5,000-seat tennis stadium, and just 58 fans watched the netball opening
match.
One Indian competitor tried to buy tickets for relatives online, only to be
informed by the website that tickets were sold out. When he arrived to
compete, he found the venue to be empty.
The streets of Delhi were deserted for the cycling road races and walking
event.

SPECTATORS' RESPONSE AT OPENING CEREMONY

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Commonwealth Games Scam

At the opening ceremony, the chairman of the organising committee, Suresh

Kalmadi, faced embarrassment, when he was booed by spectators at the start
of his welcome speech to 60,000 spectators. Kalmadi came under further
strain when he "thanked" the late Princess Diana for attending the opening
ceremony of the games. The chairman made the blunder at a press
conference saying 'Yes, Princess Diana was there, after which he
immediately corrected himself by saying 'Prince Charles and (Camilla) the
Duchess of Cornwall.

OPENING CEREMONY
The Australian Commonwealth contingent expressed frustration over the
opening ceremony, in which there were claims that the athletes and
delegation support staff were "treated like cattle" and subjected to
"disgraceful" and unbearable conditions. Australia's chef de mission Steve
Moneghetti complained about the athletes being trapped in "absolute
cauldron conditions" under the main stadium before marching for the
opening ceremony. The Australians were stuck in a tunnel, where
Moneghetti described the temperature as exceeding 40 C (104 F) due to a
lack of airconditioning and ventilation. When attempting to move out, the
Australian delegation was stopped by staff. When the contestants were
finally able to move out into the arena, they were described as being
emotionally affected.

RACISM ALLEGATIONS

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Commonwealth Games Scam

African countries have complained that they are getting second-class

treatment from the Games organisers, in spite of them offering India a hand
in the preparation of the Games. They have alleged that accommodation
given to them was inferior compared to the accommodation provided to the
Australian and New Zealand teams. They went on to state that India was
complaining about being victims of racial bias in the reporting of the Games;
while simultaneously perpetrating the same kind of racism against the
African countries.

INFRASTRUCTURE ISSUES
TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE
The Delhi Airport Metro Express built by Reliance Infrastructure and CAF
Beasain missed its deadline of 31 July 2010 and the private consortium was
fined INR 112.5 million.

VENUES
Less than two weeks before the opening ceremony, Fennell wrote to the
Indian cabinet secretary, urging action in response to the village being
"seriously compromised." He said that though team officials were impressed
with the international zone and main dining area, they were "shocked" by the
state of the accommodation. "The village is the cornerstone of any Games
and the athletes deserve the best possible environment to prepare for their
competition." The BBC published photographs of the village taken two days
before 23 September showing unfinished living quarters.

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Commonwealth Games Scam

New Zealand, Canada, Scotland and Northern Ireland have expressed

concern about unliveable conditions. The Times of India newspaper reports
that the Scottish delegation apparently submitted a photograph of a dog
defecating on a bed in the games village. Hooper said that there was
"excrement in places it shouldn't be" in the athletes' quarters and that
members of visiting delegations had to help clean up the unsanitary things.
The BBC released images of bathrooms with brown-coloured paan stains on
the walls and floor, liquids on the floor, and brown paw prints on athletes'
beds. Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of the Organising Committee,
rejected the complaint that sanitation was poor by saying that, due to cultural
differences, there are different standards about cleanliness in India and the
western world, a statement for which he was widely ridiculed in Indian and
international media. Bhanot went on to say of the athletes' village that, "This
is a world-class village, probably one of the best ever."
Meanwhile, Pakistan also made reservations over the condition of the
athletes' village and asked for an alternate accommodation to be made
available to its contingent while preparation was still in progress. The
Pakistan Olympic Association president Arif Hasan remarked: "We want the
CGF to ensure that the athletes' village is in good condition. Athletes cannot
stay at a substandard place." Hasan however added that there were no doubts
over Pakistans participation and the contingent would leave as planned.
On the other hand, England's Chef de mission Craig Hunter praised the
Games Village, remarking that "the Commonwealth Games Village here [in
New Delhi] is better than the Beijing Olympics". He added that the
arrangements at the Games Village is much better than that at the 2008
Summer Olympics.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

Canada's sports minister also supported the Games, saying that big events
always face issues, and the media often exaggerates them, as Canada found
during the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He added that "We are coming in
full force."

PROBLEMS WITH FUNCTIONALITY OF EQUIPMENT AND

INFRASTRUCTURE DURING EVENTS
On the first night of swimming, debris landed in the swimming pool, causing
delays ahead of a race. It is believed that part of the ceiling or its paint had
fallen off.
Before the last night of swimming finals, the filtration system broke down
and the pool was turbid and murky during the warm-up session and the
finals; it was described as the least clear ever seen for a swimming
competition. A disproportionate number of swimmers fell ill with intestinal
complaints, leading to concerns over the cleanliness and sanitation of the
pool. Early suspicions rested on the quality of water in the swimming pools
of the SPM Complex, but other competing teams, including South Africa,
reported no such illness. Daily water quality tests were being carried out on
the water of the pools, as mandated by the event standards. Additional tests
were ordered after news of the illnesses, but they also did not find anything
amiss. The Australian team's chief doctor, Peter Harcourt, ruled that the
"chances of the [Delhi] pool being the cause of the problem is very remote"
and praised the hygiene and food quality in the Delhi Games Village. He
suggested that it could be a common case of Traveler's diarrhea (locally
called Delhi belly), or the Australian swimmers could have contracted the
stomach virus during their training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

English Olympic and Commonwealth gold-medalist swimmer Rebecca

Adlington said that the water quality was absolutely fine.
After the opening ceremony, the ground at the athletics arena was damaged,
and the grass infield and the track was still being re-laid two hours before
competition started.

VANDALISM OF GAMES VILLAGE BY ATHLETES

CONDOMS AND TOILET BLOCKAGES
An Indian newspaper during the games reported that used condoms flushed
down the toilets in the athlete's village had caused some drains to become
blocked, necessitating action by plumbers to clear the pipes.

ATHLETES

UNDER

INVESTIGATION

FOR TRASHING

APARTMENTS
Australian athletes have been accused of vandalizing the towers of the
athletes' village they were staying in by breaking furniture and electrical
fittings. Delhi Police did not press the case after the Organizing Committee
refused to file a complaint while Indian external affairs minister SM Krishna
dismissed it as a one-off incident.
A washing machine was hurled from the eighth floor of the same tower.
Nobody on the ground was hit, but it is unclear who the culprit was. Indian
newspapers have reported that the Australian Commonwealth Games
Authority agreed to pay for the damages and have apologised for the
incident. The Australian High Commissioner rejected the claim, stating that
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Commonwealth Games Scam

the incident was the result of partying and celebrations. Later comments by
Australian officials have contradicted claims by Lalit Bhanot that they had
admitted responsibility. Perry Crosswhite said that it was still unclear if
athletes from other nations present in the tower at the time had been
responsible.

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Commonwealth Games Scam

ANALYSIS II

SAFETY AND SECURITY CONCERNS

Small monkeys roam Delhi's streets and prefer heavily urbanized areas with
plenty of living space among buildings. They cannot be killed because many
Indians see them as sacred so instead a larger, domesticated monkey, the
langur, is brought in to scare away the smaller monkeys.
On the second day of the games, three Ugandan officials were injured by a
malfunctioning security barrier at the games' village, and a senior official
from that country raised allegations of discrimination by Indian officials.
Uganda's sports minister lashed out at Indian officials and demanded an
apology for the accident. The officials had cuts and bruises and were
hospitalized overnight for observation. The chairman of the Games'
Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi, apologized to the Ugandan High
Commissioner to India for the freak car accident.

INFRASTRUCTURAL COMPROMISE
On 21 September 2010, a footbridge under construction for the Games near
the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium collapsed, injuring at least 23 people, mainly
workers, underscoring fears of poor workmanship. Commenting on the
incident, Chief Minister of Delhi Sheila Dikshit controversially remarked
that the footbridge was only meant for spectators and not for athletes.
Following the collapse, Fennell expressed concern that conditions at the
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Commonwealth Games Scam

Games Village, which had "shocked the majority", would seriously

compromise the entire event. The company that was building the foot bridge,
P&R Infraprojects, was subsequently blacklisted by the Delhi Government
and was not allowed to get government contracts.
Reportedly, progress was still slow and four or five accommodation towers
built by Emaar at the Games village were unfinished, lacking facilities such
as wireless internet, fitted toilets and plumbing. In addition, rubble, unused
masonry and discarded bricks littered the unfinished gardens. According to
sports historian Boria Majumdar, author of the Sellotape Legacy: Delhi and
the Commonwealth Games, India "may have to pull a miracle." The father of
Australian track cyclist Kaarle McCulloch visited his daughter at the
Olympic village. A builder in Australia, Grahame McCulloch criticised the
structural soundness of the village; he said "those buildings are the dodgiest
things I have ever seen...so substandard". He told his daughter not to use the
balcony, fearing that it was collapsible.
On 22 September 2010, part of the drop ceiling of the new Commonwealth
Games weightlifting venue in New Delhi collapsed.
Indian bantamweight boxer Akhil Kumar's bed in the Games village
collapsed when he sat on it. "I sat down on my bed to rest but suddenly it
gave way. After that I noticed that part of it has no plywood", he said
On 27 September 2010, a South African athlete reported that a snake was
present in his room in the Games Village. A day earlier, animal authorities
had to be called in to evacuate a king cobra from the tennis venue.

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On 7 October, a large scoreboard crashed to the ground at the rugby venue

when a supporting chain snapped. The games however were due to start a
week later so no major repercussions were experienced.

TERROR THREATS
Following the 2008 Mumbai attacks, some athletes and their representative
bodies expressed security fears during the games. In April 2010, during the
Indian Premier League, two low intensity bombs went off outside the M.
Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bangalore. Although there were no casualties, this
postponed the start of the game by an hour. Following this attack, foreign
cricketers like Kevin Pietersen expressed fears for their safety and questions
were raised regarding the safety of athletes during the Commonwealth
Games. The UK and Canada also warned about potential attacks on
commercial targets in Delhi ahead of the games.

JAMA MASJID INCIDENT

2010 JAMA MASJID ATTACK
On 19 September 2010, unknown gunmen on a motorbike opened fire with
an automatic pistol on a tourist bus outside the Jama Masjid mosque in
Delhi. The attacks, which came a fortnight before the start of the games,
injured two Taiwanese tourists. Two hours later, a Maruti car exploded in the
vicinity, reportedly from a deliberate low-intensity pressure cooker bomb
which had been assembled inside. No fatalities or major damages were
reported. The incidents, which were purportedly claimed by the Indian
Mujahideen, provoked fears about lack of security in the city for the
upcoming games. However, police in Delhi initially denied the role of any
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organised terror group and instead blamed the attacks on "disgruntled youths
and local criminal gangs." Officials suggested that a possible motive of the
strike was to instill fear in people ahead of the Commonwealth Games.

FEAR OF DENGUE OUTBREAK

The heaviest monsoon rains in 15 years, along with large quantities of
standing water on CWG construction sites as well as in tanks and ponds,
raised concerns over increased levels of mosquito-borne disease in Delhi. In
the run-up to the games it was reported that 65-70 cases of dengue fever
were being diagnosed each day in the city, with the number of cases "likely
to hit the 3,000 mark" by the opening on 3 October.

ILLNESS
Many swimmers were reported to have fallen ill. Initially, concerns were
raised over the quality of water in the swimming pools of the SPM Complex.
It was said that more than 20 percent of the English team's swimmers
about eight to 10 competitors had been struck down with a stomach virus.
The Australian team also reported that at least six of its swimmers had been
sick, including Andrew Lauterstein, who had to withdraw from the 50-meter
butterfly. Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell said
officials would conduct tests to make sure the pools were not the source of
the illness. "If there is something unsafe, you cannot swim in that water. It is
a matter we have to deal with a great deal of urgency," he said.
However, other competing teams, including South Africa, reported no such
illness. Daily water quality tests were being carried out on the water of the
pools, as mandated by the event standards. Additional tests were ordered
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after news of the illnesses, but they also did not find anything amiss. The
Australian team's chief doctor, Peter Harcourt, ruled that the "chances of the
[Delhi] pool being the cause of the problem is very remote" and praised the
hygiene and food quality in the Delhi Games Village. He suggested that it
could be a common case of Traveler's diarhoea (locally called Delhi belly),
or the Australian swimmers could have contracted the stomach virus during
their training camp in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. English Olympic and
Commonwealth gold-medalist swimmer Rebecca Adlington said that the
water quality was absolutely fine.

BOYCOTT
Following the withdrawal of Dani Samuels, the women's world discus
champion, because "her safety was more important to them than a medal,"
Australia's Minister for Sport, Mark Arbib, said CWG officials expected
more competitors to follow suit.
The Scottish team's departure of its first 41 boxers, rugby players, wrestlers
and support staff was delayed for 48 hours, and the Welsh team set a
deadline of 22 September to receive reassurances that the venues would be
fit for purpose. The first batch of English athletes, which included a lawn
bowls team and a men's hockey squad, said the organisers were not making
nearly enough progress just a day before they were to leave. The Guardian
suggested a mass walkout remained an option with the "point of no return"
less than a week before the scheduled start; they claimed the "main
competing countries would be likely to act in concert." They also suggested
the games were on the verge of "descending into farce."
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Michael Cavanagh, the chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said a

decision to stay away would be a joint one, as he insisted a possible knock
on effects for the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow would not be a
factor. He said "In terms of withdrawal we don't see this as simply a Team
Scotland decision, any decision to withdraw we would see as being a
collective decision amongst the countries who are already there and already
concerned. We can't allow ourselves to be influenced by thoughts of how it
may impact on 2014, not when we have something as important as the safety
of our athletes to consider." Phillips Idowu, the world triple jump champion,
also withdrew from the Games.

CALLS FOR BOYCOTT

Amidst allegations of blatant corruption, shoddy construction work at
venues and security concerns for participating athletes, the 2010
Commonwealth Games have faced numerous boycott calls from individuals
in India, England and Australia.
Within India, there were calls for boycott. Other celebrities who followed
Aiyar's comments in expressing a call for boycott include former Indian
cricket captain and spin bowler Bishan Singh Bedi and bestselling Indian
author Chetan Bhagat. Bedi said the "CWG organisers have taken the
country for a ride" and urged international athletes to boycott the
"embarrassing" Delhi games. Bhagat, who is considered a youth icon in
India with a huge fan following, called the Commonwealth games the
"biggest and most blatant exercise in mass corruption since the country won
independence six decades ago. Bhagat, who has sold more than 4 million
books in India, also urged his readers to boycott the games event and not to
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Commonwealth Games Scam

watch them on TV, thereby using the "golden chance" to "put the corrupt and
insensitive government to shame."
The Jat community seeking reservation under the OBC quota have also
planned to use the Commonwealth games as a platform and force the Indian
government to relent to their needs.
Other countries also threatened to boycott the games. Considering the
potential impact of a terror threat and other security concerns, rumors arose
about a boycott of the Delhi Commonwealth Games by major participating
nations including Scotland, England and New Zealand. However, the rumors
were soon put to rest by Commonwealth games committees in each of these
countries who expressed a general level of satisfaction with the security
arrangements.
Australian quadruple Olympic gold medal winning swimmer Dawn Fraser
called for Australia to boycott the games event, citing fears of a tragedy
similar to that which unfolded in the Munich Olympics of 1972. Fraser
pronounced that reports of missed construction deadlines and other
irregularities in games planning meant Indian authorities' "word for
providing security should not be taken at its face value." However, the
Australian Commonwealth Games Organising Committee was quick to
dismiss Fraser's fears with ACGA chief executive, Perry Crosswhite saying
he believed there will be no security issues during the games event. John
Coates, Australia's Olympic chief, came down hard on the organisers,
alleging teams were being forced to temporary accommodation at hotels. "I
don't think it is a cultural thing. When you agree to host [the Games], you

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are required to provide the basics in terms of health and hygiene for the
athletes. The Games shouldn't have been awarded to Delhi in hindsight."

OTHER WITHDRAWALS
A number of athletes withdrew from the Games, for reasons related and nonrelated to the state of affairs in the days leading up to the event. Jamaican
world record holder Usain Bolt and his predecessor Asafa Powell pulled out
of the event citing the timing of the Games as a major reason for their
decisions to stay away. Olympic cyclist champion Geraint Thomas pulled
out for fear of contracting dengue fever. Other notable athletes who have
announced their non-attendance include Paula Radcliffe, Jessica Ennis,
Jennifer Meadows, Natasha Danvers, Chris Hoy, Bradley Wiggins, Victoria
Pendleton and Beth Tweddle.

SPORTING CONTROVERSIES
DOPING
Prior to the Games, four wrestlers, a shot-putter and two swimmers who
were all part of India's Games squad tested positive for methylhexaneamine.
Four others, who were not picked for the Games in the Indian capital, also
failed drug tests conducted at the various training camps across the country.
Oludamola Osayomi, the winner of the women's 100-metre sprint event, was
reported to have tested positive for a "banned substance" which was later
revealed to be the stimulant methylhexaneamine. Another Nigerian athlete,
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Commonwealth Games Scam

hurdler Samuel Okon who placed sixth in the 110 metres hurdles, was
reported to have tested positive for the same drug.
In July 2011, three of the four women from India's gold-medal winning 400metre-relay team tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs. Two of
the racers, Sini Jose and Jauna Murmu, tested positive for the anabolic
steroid methandienone, and Tiana Mary Thomas tested positive for epimethandienone.

ARCHERY
While the audience's behaviour at the archery event provoked criticism from
the English team, the silver medallist, Alison Williamson, praised it on the
other hand. Earlier reports held that the English team was upset because the
loud chant of the crowd during the women's recurve event had distracted the
archers. In an action condemned in the Indian media, an English archery
official allegedly abused an Indian coach, telling him to "f*** off." The
comment came after the Indian team registered a one-point win over
England to claim the gold medal. The Indian archery head coach, Limba
Ram, walked over to shake hands with officials of the rival team. In
response, an English official showed his elbow in a gesture before uttering
the remarks. Britain's archery team leader said she was unaware of the
incident and added, "[the Indian coach] must find out whether the person
was one among us. If he was not wearing a red jersey, he would not be part
of the side. I will speak to the Indian coach about it." Limba Ram said that
he failed to identify the person as he had chosen to ignore the one-off
incident. There have also been accusations that Ram was called a monkey on
two different occasions by an English official.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

ATHLETICS
During the Final of the Womens 100m sprint final controversy was caused
by the eventual disqualification of Sally Pearson of Australia. She had won
the race on the third attempted start after one start was delayed because of
excessive crowd noise and the second due to a false start by Laura Turner of
England. Pearson was disqualified because she was deemed to have falsestarted in the second attempted restart along with Turner. This was as a
direct result of a protest lodged by Team England. The controversy was
caused as only Turner was disqualified from the race during the race because
of a false start and not Pearson. Turner ran the race under protest. Pearson
and other athletes were not informed of the protest until four hours after the
race, as they were waiting to begin the medal presentation for the race.
Commonwealth Games Federation president Mike Fennell called Pearson's
treatment "unsatisfactory" and that the whole situation was caused by an
"unacceptable communications blunder".

BOXING
During the weigh-in for the boxing competition, the scales were giving
inaccurate readings with athletes recording higher body weights on the
official scales. The scales were deemed to be broken and the weigh-in was
delayed 24 hours to find and calibrate new scales. The initial wrong
measurements led to angry shouting between coaches, athletes and
organisers. During the boxing competition there have been claims made by
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Commonwealth Games Scam

various teams including England and Botswana that jabs were not being
scored by judges. This was attributed to the removal of a white scoring zone
placed on the boxers gloves which is usually present in amateur boxing
events. The BBC commentating team also claimed there to be a bias in
judges scores towards Indian competitors.

CYCLING
During the final of the Mens Keirin, Malaysian Azizulhasni Awang was
disqualified for aggressive interference when he forced his way past two
competitors. Race winner Josiah Ng said he was "mystified" over Awang's
disqualification. In the semi-final round of the keirin, Australia's Shane
Perkins was disqualified for dangerous riding with the official reason not
being made clear. Perkins subsequently won the classification race and was
described by Chris Boardman from the BBC to "have aimed an angry V-sign
at officials"; he gestured to the judges with his index and middle finger held
together. No subsequent action was taken against Perkins who later said,
"the officials need to go back to school", referencing poor decisions he felt
had been made in the sprint and keirin events.

SWIMMING
On another occasion, South African swimmer Roland Schoeman came under
criticism when he referred to the crowd at the swimming as "going on like
monkeys" in a post-race poolside interview. Schoeman's remarks came after
he narrowly avoided being disqualified as he and England's Simon Burnett
fell in at the start of the 50m freestyle when distracted by crowd noise. The
swimming has been persistently affected by Indian spectators ignoring
etiquette and shouting out while the competitors were preparing for the start.
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Commonwealth Games Scam

His comment was regarded as possibly being a racial ethnic slur, although he
later said that the word was commonly used in South Africa to refer to
mischievous behaviour. At an official press conference, organising
committee secretary-general Lalit Bhanot took the complaints about
monkeys literally. Not being aware of the complaints, Bhanot felt Delhi's
wildlife was at issue: "We know especially at the swimming pool there are a
lot of monkeys and we have made efforts to keep them away from the
swimming pool."

WRESTLING
Australian wrestler Hassene Fkiri was ejected from the 96 kg Greco-Roman
competition and stripped of the silver medal after making an obscene gesture
at the international FILA judges during the final. According to an Australian
official, Fkiri was furious at his Indian rival Anil Kumar, who he accused of
breaking the rules a number of times in the first period by holding Fkiri
around the neck and head with two hands. The Australian received his first
warning after he made a comment to the referee as he walked off the mat at
the end of the two-minute period; when Kumar repeated the same move in
the next round, Fkiri headbutted him and was issued a second warning. He
then proceeded to swing his arms uncontrollably afterwards, which resulted
in his third warning and eventual disqualification. After losing, Fkiri refused
to shake hands with the victor.

REACTIONS AND RESPONSES

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Commonwealth Games Scam

Responding to media concerns, the organisers said there were 48 hours to

save the Games after warnings of a pull out.
Numerous Bollywood actors also expressed their dismay at the state of the
Games.
Four days before the start of the games the opening, the closing ceremonies,
and the 100 m athletics, were still not sold out.
The Sydney Morning Herald wrote that despite Kalmadi's "blind optimism",
the games were not going to be the best ever. Instead, it wrote that it was
"probably the most interesting."
The opening ceremony played a key role in improving the image of the
Games. As athletes arrived and competitions started, many earlier critics
changed their view. The Australian Sports Minister said that India could now
aim for the Olympics, and the President of the International Olympic
Committee, Jacques Rogge, said that India had made a good foundation for a
future Olympics bid. As the Games concluded, many observers remarked
that they began on an apprehensive note, but were an exceptional experience
with a largely positive ending. Some observers accused sections of the
media of bias, unfair expectations, and negative reporting.
Within India, the Games saw criticism due to the Games' origins as a
celebration of the British Empire, with Arindam Chaudhuri arguing for
India's disassociation from the "slavish games" which he viewed as a
"celebration of racial discrimination, colonialism and imperialism".

CRITICISM BY MANI SHANKAR AIYAR

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Mani Shankar Aiyar, a senior member of the ruling Indian National

Congress party and former Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs was an early
whistleblower from the Indian Union Cabinet who expressed concern over
extensive delays in preparation leading to unplanned expenses which he
said, could have been utilized for "ensuring a better sporting future for
Indian children by providing them sports training". Aiyar also said that he
would be "unhappy" if the Games were a success and wished for the
"Commonwealth Games to be spoiled."
Aiyar's frank media admission proved a public embarrassment for
Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi
who labelled him "anti national" for wishing that the Commonwealth Games
are "spoilt." Kalmadi's remark received extensive criticism in Indian media.
Aiyar also told an Australian TV channel that India is "probably the poorest
country of the Commonwealth". Bangladesh, among other countries, has a
lower GDP per capita/purchasing power parity.

ALLEGATIONS

OF

CORRUPTION

AND

FINANCIAL

IRREGULARITIES
The day after the conclusion of the Games, the Indian Government
announced formation of a special committee to probe the allegations of
corruption and mismanagement against the Organizing Committee (OC).
The probe committee was led by former Comptroller and Auditor General of
India VK Shunglu. This probe was in addition to the Directorate General of
Income Tax Investigation, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI),
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Commonwealth Games Scam

Enforcement Directorate, and Central Vigilance Commission (CVC)

investigations already underway. The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh,
had promised in mid-August, when reports of the bungling first surfaced,
that corrupt officials will be given "severe and exemplary" punishment after
the Games. The committee was given three months time to submit its report.
A total of 53 corruption cases were being examined by the CVC. As of
September 2012, 28 of them were still in different stages of investigation, 13
were referred to CBI for further investigation and 12 were closed.

TIMING-SCORING-RESULT (TSR) CASE

This case relates to allegations of corruption in awarding TSR system
contract to a Swiss firm.

CBI INVESTIGATION AND CHARGESHEET

On 25 April 2011, CBI arrested former CWG Organising Committee (OC)
chairman Suresh Kalmadi in the Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) case. He was
arrested under Sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 420 (cheating) of
the Indian Penal Code.
On 20 May 2011, CBI filed the first chargesheet in a special CBI court
against Kalmadi. The CBI alleged that he was the main accused in awarding
TSR system contract to a Swiss firm. The chargesheet said, "Kalmadi is the
main accused as he was the person with all supreme powers. He had the
supreme over-riding powers in the Organising Committee of the CWG,
2010." In addition to Kalmadi, the CBI named two companies and eight
persons including OC former Secretary General Lalit Bhanot and former
Director General VK Verma as accused.
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The accused were charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal
Code sections dealing with criminal conspiracy, forging documents and
using fake documents as genuine, Section 13 (1) (d) of the Prevention of
Corruption Act.
According to the charge sheet, the accused allegedly awarded the lucrative
contract to the Swiss firm to install a TSR system for the Commonwealth
Games at an excessive cost, causing a loss of over INR900 million (US$15
million) to the exchequer. The investigation revealed that officials of the OC
had conspired with private persons for awarding the contract at an excessive
net cost of about INR1576 million (US$26 million) as compared to a net bid
of Spain-based company for approximately INR620 million (US$10
million). This resulted in a loss of about INR956 million (US$16 million) by
wrongly eliminating all competitors of Swiss-based company. Two bids were
received for TSR contract from Swiss Timing and MSL Spain and they were
opened on 4 November 2009. However, much before that, on 12 October
2009, Kalmadi and Verma had announced that the contract would be
awarded to Swiss Timing.

TRIAL
On 4 February 2013, the court of special CBI judge Ravinder Kaur found
sufficient prima facie evidence and ordered framing of charges against all
the accused. The charges framed were: cheating, forgery, criminal
conspiracy and causing a loss of over INR900 million under the Prevention
of Corruption Act. As the accused pleaded not guilty, the court ordered that
daily Criminal trial (for 5 days a week) will begin from 20 February.

QUEEN'S BATON RELAY (QBR) CASE

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Commonwealth Games Scam

The Queen's Baton Relay, similar to the Olympic Torch Relay, is a relay
around the world held prior to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games.
The Baton carries a message from the Head of the Commonwealth, currently
Queen Elizabeth II. The Relay traditionally begins at Buckingham Palace in
London as a part of the city's Commonwealth Day festivities. The Queen
entrusts the baton to the first relay runner. At the Opening Ceremony of the
Games, the final relay runner hands the baton back to the Queen or her
representative, who reads the message aloud to officially open the Games.
The QBR event was held on 29 October 2009. The allegation was that, the
Organising Committee (OC) awarded the work of transportation in QBR
event to AM Car and Van Hire Ltd at excessively high rates without
following a standard tender process.
After completing investigations, CBI filed its second charge-sheet (after the
charge-sheet in TSR case) in a special CBI court in Delhi. The CBI named
OC officials T S Darbari, Sanjay Mohindroo, Jeychandran and Londonbased businessman Ashish Patel and his two companies AM Car n Van Hire
and AM Films. The chargesheet alleged that OC members conspired to
award contracts of local transportation and others to Patel's companies at
excessive rates during the event held in London in 2009.
The accused were charged under Indian Penal Code sections relating to
criminal conspiracy to cheat and forgery along with violations of Prevention
of Corruption Act.

VENUE DEVELOPMENT SUPPORT CASE

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Commonwealth Games Scam

A Swiss company was awarded a contract of over INR700 million (US$11

million) for providing venue development support services to the Organising
Committee (OC). However, it was alleged that Prime Minister appointed VK
Shunglu Committee found serious cases of forgery and irregularity with the
contract. The committee said that, "Undue pressure was brought within the
OC for engaging the company for the contract" and recommended that CBI
or ED should take up the case for appropriate action.
Based on Shunglu Committee's findings, CBI registered an FIR against
Suresh Kalmadi, Lalit Bhanot and AK Mattoo on 23 August 2012.
On 23 March 2014, the Industan Times reported that "...the investigation
into the alleged irregularities committed is stumbling with the CBI having
closed its FIR related to grant of two contracts to a Swiss firm for lack of
evidence."

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