Please keep baton at one place: Police to Games panel

But in a recent letter to the OC,the Delhi Police said they will be busy with the athletes and delegates coming in. Nearly 8,000 athletes and their families will be coming for the Games. The government also expects at least one lakh tourists during the period.

Recently,Scott Stewart,a former CIA agent who now works for US think-tank Stratfor,had warned that the athletes could be danger during transfers from the Games Village to the venues. Lashkar-e-Toiba is likely to strike during the Games. Although,not specifically pointing to this particular alert,the police have also mentioned security concerns during the period.

The Delhi Police has also expressed reservations about a seminar being planned by the Commonwealth Business Club. The Organising Committee has proposed that the inaugural session of the seminar be addressed by Prince Charles and Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. The other days will see interaction of business teams from all the 71 participating countries. The trade ministers of several important countries including Australia are expected to make it for the seminar. The police have requested the committee to reschedule the seminar to either before or after the Games.

“The message has been misunderstood by the Delhi Police. The Business Club of India seminar is part of the calendar events being organised for the Games. It cannot be rescheduled or cancelled. We will be writing to them explaining the same,” a senior Organising Committee official said.

The movement of the baton within the city,meanwhile,remains unresolved. All the authorities who have a stake in the matter including the Delhi Police,Delhi government and Organising Committee will be meeting once again on July 15 to sort out the matter.