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Suresh Kalmadi, former union minister and Congress leader, passes away at 81
Suresh Kalmadi passes away: He earlier served as Union minister of state for railways and was also the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
Suresh Kalmadi, former Union minister and Congress leader, died after a prolonged illness on Tuesday at the age of 81, HT has learnt. He was undergoing treatment at Deenanath Mangeshkar Hospital in Maharashtra's Pune.
His mortal remains will be kept at Kalmadi House in Pune's Erandwane until 2 pm. The cremation will take place at Vaikunth smashanbhumi at 3.30 pm, his office said in a statement.
He is survived by his wife, his son and daughter-in-law, two married daughters and a son-in-law, along with his grandchildren.
Who was Suresh Kalmadi?
He earlier served as Union minister of state for railways and was also the president of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
A popular political leader from Pune, Kalmadi was elected to the Lok Sabha from the city on several occasions.
Over the years, he handled many roles in public life and remained closely linked to sports administration at the national level for a long period.
However, his tenure at IOA came under fire over the 2010 Commonwealth Games corruption case and he was charged under the Prevention of Corruption Act over alleged misuse of funds.
He was arrested in April 2011, after which the Congress suspended him from the party.
Even after the controversy, Kalmadi remained influential within sports organisations. In 2016, a group of more than 150 members chose him and Abhay Singh Chautala as life presidents of the Indian Olympic Association. However, the move backfired when the Union sports minister demanded an inquiry into the selection.
Later, Kalmadi turned down the position, writing to the then Indian Olympic Association president N Ramachandran that the moment was not right for him to take up the role.
Clean chit in CWG case
Earlier this year, a Delhi court accepted the closure report submitted by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case. The court said there was no proof of money laundering against Suresh Kalmadi.
The decision effectively gave him a clean chit in the 15-year-old case.
Special judge Sanjeev Aggarwal of the Rouse Avenue Court said the prosecution had not been able to prove an offence under Section 3 (money laundering) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
