They have demanded written assurances from Suresh Kalmadi, the chairman of the Organising Committee and the President of the Indian Olympic Association, that none of the payment would be paid in commission to Sports Marketing and Management (SMAM), the Melbourne-based company finding sponsors for the Games.

Under an agreement between SMAM and Delhi 2010, the Australian company stand to benefit by up to 23 per cent of all contributions made towards sponsorship for the Games.

"We have raised a query with the Organising Committee whether any part of our contribution would go to SMAM," a spokesman for Indian Railways.

There are now fears that the move will be followed by the Games' other major local sponsors, including Central Bank, Air India and NTPC, who are due to each contribute 500 million rupees (£9.5 million/$15 million).

Indian Railways made the decision following several days of damaging revelations about the Games Organising Committee, including allegations of financial impropriety and other allegations of corruption.

Indian Railways announcement puts Kalmadi under even more pressure to explain what has happened, especially as it was claimed today that the e-mails he relied on last week to prove that the Organising Committee had done nothing wrong had been falsified.

Kalmadi was reportedly by External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna that not only had the alleged e-mails been "doctored" but they also contained glaring mistakes as a result of additions made to them to show that a junior High Commission official had recommended British-based company AM Films which was given a contract for providing logistic services during the Queen's Baton Relay in London last October.

It has been alleged that Sanjay Mohindroo, a member of the Organising Committee, sent e-mails to Ashish Patel, the owner of AM Films telling him what figure to quote.

In the alleged e-mail, Mohindroo reportedly Patel to charge the Organising Committee £450 ($717) per day for a car, rather than the firm's normal rate of £150 ($239).

Lalit Bhanot, the secretary general of the Organising Committee of Delhi 2010, had admitted that he has received a letter from India's Sports Ministry seeking the removal of Mohindroo and TS Darbari, another member of the Organising Committee, for their alleged links to Patel and his firms.

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