JOIN USThe e-mail, sent by an IHC protocol official Raju Sebastian, recommended various service providers for the London launch of the Queen’s Baton Relay.
It was made public by CWG Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi to justify payments to a little-known UK-firm — AM Films — for its “services” during the event, which was also attended by President Pratibha Patil and British Queen Elizabeth II.
The twist came when the High Commission denied recommending A M Films and it got more mysterious when the Ministry of External Affairs declared that the mail could have been “doctored”.
The Ministry said the last line of the mail, recommending A M Films’ name, could have been added to the original communication from the IHC.
The mail was originally sent to OC Director Raj Singh and later forwarded to suspended Deputy Director General Sanjay Mohindroo, who in turn sent it to sacked Joint Director General T S Darbari.
Darbari, claiming innocence in the entire episode, maintains he has nothing to with the mail as he neither received it first-hand nor sent it to anybody else.
In his explanation to a three-member panel investigating the matter, Darbari said he asked Singh to confirm authenticity of mail but got a non-committal response.