Former Commonwealth Games organising committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi has been sacked by the Indian Olympic Association, hours after he was remanded to police custody for eight days. The CBI had sought 14 days' police custody of Kalmadi who was arrested on Monday, on charges of illegal contracts to a Swiss firm for Timing-Scoring-Result (TSR) system for the Games causing a loss of Rs 95 crore to the exchequer, and  suspended by the Congress party later in the day.

As Kalmadi was being escorted by a posse of policemen while entering the Patiala House court complex for being produced before a special CBI court on Tuesday, a man hurled a slipper at him. Identified as Kapil Thakur, the slipper-thrower was immediately detained, police said.

The centre had mounted pressure on the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) to elect a new president. The sports ministry wanted the IOA to elect a new president in place of Kalmadi as it felt a person who has been arrested or charge-sheeted should not head any organisation.

"The person who is in jail or who has been charge-sheeted, it would not be in the national interest that he should represent the country any more. As soon as official confirmation of his arrest comes, we are going to request the IOA to elect someone," sports minister Ajay Maken told reporters here.

Terming Kalmadi as "symbol of corruption", Clean Sports India, led by former hockey captain Pargat Singh, welcomed his arrest and said his exit would help bring sports reforms in the country.

"The arrest is late but better late than never," Pargat said.

"CSI looks at this development as an opportunity to kick start the reforms of Indian Sports Federations as Kalmadi was a stumbling block for any reforms," he said.

Earlier Stories:

The game's up for Suresh Kalmadi, arrested by CBI

Suresh Kalmadi was arrested by the CBI after being questioned over alleged irregularities in the conduct of Queen's Baton Relay (QBR) held in London in 2009. The CBI said that Kalmadi had been arrested for conspiracy to favour a private firm in Switzerland by awarding contract at inflated cost of Rs 141 cr. "Contract given by wrongfully restricting and eliminating competition from other suppliers in pre-mediated manner," the CBI added.

The agency had asked Kalmadi, sacked as chairman of the CWG organising committee, to appear before it in order to clarify some new issues which surfaced during the visit of the agency's officials to London in connection with QBR scam.

Kalmadi had earlier expressed his inability to appear before the CBI citing his foreign visit, saying he would return home only after April 19. But even after returning from his visit abroad, he did not turn up before the agency saying he was still not in Delhi.

The CBI had gathered fresh leads after the trip of its two-member team to London in connection with cases related to alleged irregularities in hiring of AM Films and AM Car and Van Hire Limited during QBR held in 2009 at exorbitant rates, sources in the agency said.

The team has spoken to the London-based owner of both the companies -- Ashish Patel -- who has provided information and documents with regard to the allegedly overvalued deal, the sources said.

AM Car and Van Hire company in London was engaged during QBR in 2009 to provide services like taxis for the guests and OC members. AM films was hired to provide display monitors during the event.

The CBI team during their visit to London had also questioned other companies which were in the fray for the contract.

The agency had sent a two-member team comprising additional director V K Gupta and DIG S K Palsania to London to probe the payments made to the two companies allegedly with Kalmadi's tacit approval, they said.

CBI now wants Kalmadi to respond to the fresh information on the monetary transactions with the two companies.

This is the third time that Kalmadi has appeared before the investigating agency for facing questions relating to the CWG scam.

Kalmadi arrest 'belated, tip of iceberg': Opposition

The Opposition BJP and the CPI-M on Monday said the arrest of Suresh Kalmadi, the sacked CWG organising Committee chief, was "belated" and only the "tip of the iceberg".

The two opposition parties wanted investigating agencies to take stringent action against others involved in the Commonwealth Games scam.

"This (arrest) is only the tip of the iceberg, " BJP president Nitin Gadkari told reporters at Maharashtra BJP office in Mumbai.

"Kalmadi is not the only one. Others have not been arrested. CBI should take stringent action against those involved in the Commonwealth Games scam," he said.

Echoing Gadkari's sentiments, senior CPI-M leader Brinda Karat said the "belated action" of Kalmadi's arrest hardly brought any confidence and that it was "only the tip of an iceberg".

Karat, who is in Kolkata, said the Shunglu Committee and the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) had in their reports "implicated the Delhi governments and some departments under central ministers".

"Therefore, the huge CWG scam is yet another piece of evidence about the corruption which has proliferated under the Manmohan Singh government. The fact that the action is so belated hardly brings any confidence," she said.

The action required now should really be in the aspects which have been pointed out by the Shunglu panel and the CAG, Karat said, adding that investigations should not be limited to "just in one case, when thousands of crore of rupees is involved. Action should be taken against all those named in the Shunglu report and questions raised by the CAG".

The CPI(M) Politburo came out with a statement calling Kalmadi's arrest "belated" and "much delayed" and demanded that the CBI take steps to lodge cases and prosecute others responsible for the irregularities.

Maintaining that the arrest of the Congress leader "for corruption" associated with the games was welcome though it was "much delayed", the party said the CBI should forthwith register cases and prosecute "those who were responsible for the expropriation of public funds".

"Apart from the instances of corruption indulged in by the organising committee of the CWG, there is large scale misuse of funds for the games by other agencies and authorities in the Delhi Government and the Central Government. Some of these have been enquired into by the Shunglu Committee," it added.

Below are the links to some Governance Now stories done before the Commonwealth Games:

Go Kalmadi Go. Games can’t be a bigger fiasco without you

http://www.governancenow.com/news/regular-story/go-kalmadi-go-games-can-t-be-bigger-fiasco-without-you

Make the biggest contribution to Indian sport, Mr Kalmadi. Just go!

http://www.governancenow.com/views/columns/make-biggest-contribution-indian-sport-mr-kalmadi-just-go