Suresh Kalmadi being blackmailed?

Is Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi being blackmailed?

The CBI, which carried out searches at the residence of Kalmadi has recovered an alleged blackmail letter demanding Rs four crore from him in exchange for a 'compact disc' carrying some damaging information.

Sources in the investigating agency said authenticity of the letter is being verified. They said as Kalmadi could not provide a satisfactory reply on the letter, the agency is taking it on the "face value".

The sleuths are trying to verify contents of the unsigned letter found from the residence of Kalmadi and are likely to put it through a series of forensic tests, official sources said. The sources refused to disclose any reference made in the letter about the contents of the compact disc.

The CBI had on Friday raided Kalmadi's residences and offices in Delhi, Mumbai and Pune, two months after the sporting extravaganza ended amid allegations of financial wrongdoings in awarding of some contracts.

During the raids, the agency recovered several documents and questioned the 66-year old leader about them.

CBI sources had said that the key files, which contain important information on tendering, budgetary allocation and contract details, are missing from the (OC) office.

However, Kalmadi said the documents could be lying with some other investigating agency and if the CBI lists out the missing document he and his team would trace them.

His wife Meera was inside the "Kalmadi House" located off the arterial Karve road in West Pune during the course of the searches by a eight-member team that caused a flutter in the city which the high profile MP represents in Parliament.

The agency has so far filed three FIRs in connection with the alleged irregularities in CWG and searched the residences of OC Director General V K Verma and Bhanot on November 30.

While one case is related to a Rs 107-crore deal struck with a Swiss score keeping firm, the agency had registered two other FIRs in connection with the contract given to AM Films for the Baton Relay ceremonies by the OC in London.

The CBI had arrested OC's Joint Director General TS Darbari, Deputy Director General Sanjay Mohindroo and former treasurer Jayachandran for their alleged complicity in these deals.