NEW DELHI - Indian officials arrested the chief organizer of last year's Commonwealth Games on Monday as part of a corruption investigation into the scandal-plagued competition in New Delhi.

India had hoped that the Games would help it project the image of a rising superpower, but instead it was deeply embarrassed by corruption allegations, construction delays and cost overruns as the budget ballooned to 700 billion rupees ($15 billion) from an estimated 18.9 billion rupees ($412 million).

Suresh Kalmadi, the highest-ranking member of the organizing committee to be arrested, has been charged with conspiracy for allegedly favoring a Swiss company in the purchase of equipment for timing and scoring events, Central Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Dharini Mishra said.

Two other officials on the Games organizing committee _ Lalit Bhanot and V.K. Verma _ had been arrested earlier in the same case.

The bureau _ the Indian equivalent of the FBI _ claims the government was bilked out of 1.41 billion rupees ($31 million), paid to Swiss Timings Ltd. for equipment available from another company for much less.