The company asked for written confirmation that no percentage of the money will be paid to Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), the agency tasked by the organisers with attracting sponsors.
Other state-owned organisations that pledged a combined 1.5 billion rupees to the Games – Central Bank, Air India and NTPC – could follow suit as the country’s finance minister ordered that no commission should be paid for any contribution made by the public sector.
Organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi set up an investigation panel to look into payments made to SMAM and claims of customs violations and corruption in the appointment of service providers during the Queen’s Baton Relay launch in London in October.
Kalmadi was told by external affairs minister S M Krishna that an e-mail allegedly sent from the Indian High Commission in London recommending a service provider for the launch event was false and probably doctored.
In a separate development, the sports secretary Sindhushree Khullar wrote to the chairman calling for the dismissal of organising committee joint director general T S Darbari and deputy director general Sanjay Mohindroo for their alleged involvement in the Queen’s Baton Relay irregularities. Mohindroo had already resigned in the first semester.
