CBI starts probe against Badminton Assn chief

Names of senior officials of the Badminton Association of India (BAI) — including its president Akhilesh Das Gupta and others in the Delhi Capital Badminton Association (DCBA) — have cropped up during a probe, led by the CBI, senior officials said on Tuesday. 

The probe, in which the CBI has filed a preliminary enquiry (PE), is about a 2014 Youth Sports Exchange Programme with the government of Japan under which Indian badminton players are sent to Tokyo after being selected by the BAI.

The programme, aimed at promoting Japanese culture and values amongst the youth of ASEAN countries including India, is participated in by aspiring badminton players after they pass all the eligibility criteria. Instead, senior officials of BAI and DCBA have been accused of sending their own relatives to Tokyo in violation of rules and regulations agreed upon between BAI and the Japanese government which incurs the expenditure.

The CBI sources said while some of the 23 players did not pass the eligibility criteria to visit Tokyo, seven were found to be related to officials of BAI and DCBA. The team, sources said, was “informally selected by the DCBA”. 

Furthermore the officials are accused of “shortlisting” their close relatives as participants without conducting any trials.