By Nick Butler

IOA President Narayana Ramachandran has announced there will be an investigation into the behaviour of Rajeev Mehta ©AFP/Getty ImagesAn investigation will be opened by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) into the behaviour of secretary general Rajeev Mehta after he was arrested and then released during the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.


Mehta was arrested on August 2, the day before the Closing Ceremony of the Games, and accused of driving without a licence and under the influence of alcohol, only to be released without charge two days later due to a lack of evidence.

It is claimed Mehta, elected to his post in February, was driving a friend's car before being involved in a "minor accident" while coming out of a car park.

But, despite the lack of further police action in Scotland, the incident has provoked much embarrassment and outrage in India, and IOA President Narayana Ramachandran has now promised an inquiry into the initial charges.

Wrestling referee Virender Malik - arrested on the same night as Mehta in an unrelated incident relating to sexual abuse before being released without charge - will also be investigated.

"The IOA will conduct an inquiry into the incident of arrested officials in Scotland," Ramachandran said.

"There will be an internal assessment of the officials.

"The Scottish court has dropped all charges against them, but we will do our own fact finding."

India were allowed to participate in the Closing Ceremony of Sochi 2014 following the successful elections ©Getty ImagesIndia were allowed to participate in the Closing Ceremony of Sochi 2014 following the successful elections ©Getty Images



This incident is an embarrassing blow to the IOA after it was reinstated in February by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following a 14-month suspension.

This suspension, imposed following the election of officials linked to corruption, was only lifted by the IOC when Mehta, a close ally of former IOA President Suresh Kalmadi, was elected secretary general at the same time as Ramachandran, head of the World Squash Federation, was elected President in February.

There has already been tension between the two officials following Mehta's unsuccessful attempt for India to step in and bid to host the 2019 Asian Games after original host city Hanoi withdrew in April, despite the fact Ramachandran was against the plan.

In May, the IOA was forced to apologise to the International Boxing Association on Mehta's behalf after he mistakenly claimed they had not been consulted regarding the formation of a new governing body in India.

Following the latest incident, Sports Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said the Government has sought a report from the IOA, and will analyse this before considering if Mehta should be forcibly removed from his post.

In a bid to increase transparency more generally, Sports Secretary Ajit Sharan said the IOA has been told to furnish details of all expenses paid to officials attending the Games, including air fares, boarding and lodging, local transportation and daily allowance.

"We have directed to the IOA that henceforth, all such detailed information regarding expenditure on officials will have to be put up on its website for every multi-sporting events to come up in future," he said, claiming the IOA comes under India's Right to Information Act.

Neither Ramachandran or Mehta attended a special event on Friday (August 8) to honour Indian medal winners at Glasgow 2014.

According to Indian news agency IANS, Ramachandran was out of the country, while Mehta skipped the event to avoid questions on his arrest in Scotland. 

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