CWG 2014: IOA General Secretary, wrestling referee arrested in Glasgow

Two Indian officials, who are a part of the Commonwealth Games contingent, have been arrested on two separate charges of assault in Glasgow, media reports said today. [caption id=“attachment_1646971” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  India at the opening ceremony at Glasgow: PTI[/caption] The Times Now television channel said that the two have been identified as IOA General secretary Rajiv Mehta and wrestling referee Virender Malik. The details of the circumstances leading to the arrest of the two is not yet known. One was arrested in the Glasgow city centre and the other was arrested in the Western part of the city. The television channel said that the two would remain in police custody until they are produced before a court on Monday. Senior journalist V Krishnaswamy told the channel that it is believed that one of the officials had been booked for driving under the influence, but said that details at the moment were very patchy. The other offence is believed to be sexual in nature. The channel said that it is believed that Mehta has been booked for drunk driving, while Malik has been booked for sexual assault. Krishnaswamy said that Malik had tried to sexually assault one of the officials of the hotel the team had been staying at. Malik had booked for drunken driving and gone on to argue with the police officials who had tried to stop him. The incidents had happened late yesterday. Krishnaswamy added that the incident had created a lot of anguish and anger over the fact that ‘Indian officials have once again tarnished the image of Indian sports’. There has been no statement from the Indian contingent so far. The chef de mission has refused to comment. The Glasgow police have also refused to comment. However Krishnaswamy said that some Indian officials were on the way from the London embassy to apprise themselves of the situation. Media reports, quoting a Scotland Yard spokesperson, stated that “two male members - aged 45 and 49 - were arrested on separate charges.” The duo, however, is not part of the official 215-strong contingent which is staying in the Games village. Both of them were reportedly lodged at a local hotel. Rajeev Mehta was most recently in the news for questioning his president N Ramachandran over the recognition of a new boxing association without consulting the executive. The AIBA (World Boxing Federation) had recently handed provisional recognition to ‘Boxing India’ – the brainchild of two private business houses – after the world body derecognised Indian Boxing Federation on the ground of possible manipulation of its 2012 elections.