KPS Gill to file FIR against hockey bodies

Former president of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), KPS Gill, launched a scathing attack on Hockey India, International Hockey Federation (FIH), Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and the sports ministry on Wednesday, accusing them of misusing the funds during the hockey World Cup in New Delhi last year.

Gill, who is now an advisor to IHF, said there is no account for the Rs7.5 crore, the capitation fees, for the quadrennial event. “When the IHF signed the Memorandum of Understanding with FIH for hosting the 2010 World Cup, the capitation fees that was agreed on was Rs2.5 crore. But Mr (Narendra) Batra (HI secretary general) revealed at a meeting three months ago that the amount was Rs7.5 crore,” Gill said.

Gill said that Batra also revealed at the meeting (held on March 1 in Delhi), in the presence of sports ministry officials, that neither HI nor the IOA had conducted the World Cup.

“He said it was conducted by the Organising Committee of the Hero Honda FIH World Cup, registered with the Registrar of Societies in Delhi and headed by Suresh Kalmadi (former IOA chief),” he said. “I would file an FIR now to find out by which route Rs7.5 crore went out of the country. I do not know whether it was through the RBI route or the hawala route,” added Gill. “I think this is the reason why the FIH is being so lenient to Hockey India.”

The former top cop said he could not get any information about the World Cup under the RTI Act and, only when asked at the joint meeting of the IHF, HI and sports ministry in March, did Batra reveal the amount paid to FIH. Batra was not available for comment. Gill also went on to say that former sports minister MS Gill, joint secretary (sports) Injetti Srinivas and Kalmadi for ‘ruining the sport in the last three years’.

Meanwhile, IHF president RK Shetty said the decks have been cleared following the Delhi high court’s verdict in favour of the proposed World Series Hockey (WSH) to be organised by IHF.