Top India official quits after taking bribes

A leading Indian field hockey official resigned yesterday after a undercover television probe caught him allegedly accepting bribes to include a player in the national team.

K. Jothikumaran, secretary-general of the Indian Hockey Federation (IHF) for the last 14 years, denied corruption but stepped down after the TV programme late on Monday snowballed into a major controversy.

“It's disgraceful,” IHF chief Kanwar Pal Gill said in response. “I have no words to condemn such an act. He was shown taking money. What is there for me to say?

“Jothikumaran talked to me over phone and informed me that he has resigned and will not be associated with the Federation until his name was cleared.”

The Hindi-language channel “Aaj Tak” approached Jothikumaran through three undercover reporters posing as businessmen keen to organise an international tournament.

Jothikumaran was shown accepting 200,000 Indian rupees (US$5,000) to look into the matter and demanded another 300,000 rupees once the tournament was approved.

The reporters, who met Jothikumaran over two days on April 10 and 11, then asked him if an unidentified player – picked randomly by the channel from a list of probables – could be included in the national team.

TV footage apparently showed Jothikumaran promising to support the player's inclusion even as he accepted cash from the reporters and put it in a bag. – AFP