Monday saw a formal request coming to the Centre by the Manipur government, which seeks a CBI probe into the manipulative game played by the IOA and Sports Authority of India (SAI) to keep out weightlifter Monika Devi out of the Beijing Olympics.

The Sports Minister of Manipur N Biren said that anyone who is found guilty in manipulating game and keeping Monika out of the Olympics would not be spared.  

Rakesh, the State chief secretary wrote a letter to the Union Secretary Satyananda Mishra, Ministry of Personnel and Public Grievances, on behalf of the government, seeking a CBI probe into Monika’s doping charges. Aswani Kumar, CBI director has also received a copy of this letter. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also received a letter from the Chief Minister of Manipur O Ibobi Singh, seeking the PM’s intervention in directing officials concerned to take up the matter (CBI inquiry) on a priority basis.

On Saturday, the chief minister had taken up the weightlifter’s case with the PM with the hope to send Monika to the Indian contingent in Beijing. But Monika was not allowed to join the contingent by the IOA as all the procedures were closed in Beijing.

Monika was dropped from the Indian squad for Olympics at almost the eleventh hour on July 6, when she was found to have consumed an unidentified anabolic steroid. However, the clearance for the lifter came on August 9 from SAI. The blood sample of the weightlifter was found to be manipulated collected on July 6 at Pune.  The national Dope Testing Laboratory in New Delhi receives samples form the SAI.

The exclusion of Monika from the Olympics had become a major issue in Manipur and badhs were called by public and sports associations threatening to pull out of upcoming national events.