The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday carried out searches at the residential premises of embattled Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chief Suresh Kalmadi and his aide in the national capital and in Pune in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in the conduct of the Games.

CBI sources said the raids began at about 7 a.m. when a team of over 10 agency sleuths simultaneously entered both the premises.

Besides Mr Kalmadi, the premises of his personal secretary Mr Manoj Bhure were also being searched by CBI.

The raids come days after it was reported that some of the crucial documents which could throw light on the Games deals have gone missing with the probe agencies fearing that they could have been destroyed or hidden.

Sources had said that the key files, which contain important information on tendering, budgetary allocation and contract details, are missing from the Organising Committee office.

They said that the CBI officials have found sufficient evidence of criminal conspiracy by unknown Organising Committee officials in tampering with some documents and manipulating information in them. The officials have made a list of documents which are untraceable.

The CBI had recently written to the Cabinet Secretary apprising him about the need to move out Mr Kalmadi and his deputy Mr Lalit Bhanot from their Organising Committee posts as they were proving to be a roadblock in their investigations.

The agency has so far filed three FIRs in connection with the alleged irregularities in CWG and searched the residences of the Organising Committee Director-General Mr V.K. Verma and Mr 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 Organising Committee in London.

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