Monika’s probe caught up in red tape

New Delhi, Aug 23: Possibly spurred by an investigation launched by this newspaper into the state of the Monika Devi probe instituted by sports minister M.S. Gill and handed over to former chief election commissioner T.S. Krishnamurthy, an official statement on Friday released a "status report" on the state of the inquiry.With initial reports suggesting that Krishnamurthy had been given a week to come up with answers on why Monika Devi was deplaned from on the eve of the team's departure for Beijing and the deadline having lapsed two days ago, there was till late on Friday news on when the report would be submitted and what it contained.On Friday evening however, an official statement said Krishnamurthy "has begun the inquiry" and that on August 18, he had "met various officials of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports as well as Sports Authority of India"The former CEC also met Monika Devi on Thursday and is scheduled to meet the Indian Weightlifting Federation on August 26, the statement said and added that Monika Devi had yet to submit her written representation."The report of the inquiry will be submitted soon after the investigations are complete," it pointed out.Krishnamurthy was appointed on August 13 by the sports minister to inquire into the issue and submit his report within a week. The weighlifter, the only one from India to qualify for the Games, was picked after a messy selection process that saw charges and counter-charges being hurled before she was finally omitted allegedly for failing a dope test. The charge was however, later withdrawn by SAI after prolonged protests and media scrutiny.Gill himself contradicted the deadline that he had mentioned for the probe."I never said that the time limit given for the inquiry to conclude is one week. It's the Press that always mis-reports," the minister said, adding, "It's highly impractical to think of a probe ending in just a week. I have seen inquiries going on for 70 years."Gill told this paper that the investigation was going on smoothly but did not mention any dates as to when it's results will be announced.The IWF, with a long history of controversies, too was indifferent. "I do not know what has been done in the past week as I have just returned from Beijing yesterday," said IWF general secretary B.R. Gulati.Asked whether the federation had any clue as to who was responsible for the situation, Gulati replied: "We cannot comment on who is the culprit behind this, as the matter is still under inquiry."A hurt and annoyed Monika had earlier, threatened not to take part in any national or international event until the officials who "wrongly accused" her of failing the test were punished. This too was a new development for Gulati, who said, "I haven't heard anything like that. So, I cannot comment."Monika was prevented from boarding the Beijing flight at the last minute on August 6 after testing positive for a banned anabolic salt. The lifter however, claimed innocence as she had cleared four dope tests in the last two months.Monika's selection too had its share of drama before she was picked ahead of Andhra weightlifter Shailaja Pujari in the trials last month. Monika had claimed then that "some people" in SAI were trying to make a case for Shailaja due to regional allegiances.However, she was cleared by SAI of any wrongdoing on August 9 only after PM Manmohan Singh sought answers, but the relief came too late for her to participate in the Olympics. (Courtesty: Asian Age)