NEW DELHI, July 5: India’s sports ministry said on Saturday it will probe a bribery scandal that has rocked the weightlifting federation ahead of next month’s Beijing Olympic Games.

Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) secretary Baldev Raj Gulati has been accused by a fellow official of taking 500,000 rupees (12,500 dollars) from lifter Shailaja Pujari to pick her ahead of rival Monika Devi.

Although Gulati and Pujari dismissed the charge as baseless, the ministry has taken the accusation seriously and even directed the federation to pick Devi for the Games despite coming behind Pujari in recent Olympic trials.

Devi had helped India clinch the lone Olympic berth in either the men’s or women’s category by picking up a silver and a bronze in the Asian weightlifting championship in Japan in April-May.

“Reports of your involvement in taking money for inclusion of a player in the Olympic squad and other serious manipulations that took place for giving undue advantage to a lifter needs to be looked into,” the Ministry said in a letter to Gulati.

“We are of the opinion that it will be highly objectionable if any other girl than Monika Devi represents India in the Beijing Olympics 2008. We are of the view that Devi should represent India in the Olympics,” it added.

It also ordered that fresh selection trials set for July 15 to decide the issue once and for all be scrapped as it would be nothing more than an “unnecessary exercise”.

Pujari, who came out of a two-year doping ban in February, outclassed Devi in selection trials on June 29 but the ministry justified its position by saying she flouted the rules.

“It is learnt that Pujari used four types of knee bandages at a time and took advantage of reinforcement, which is against the rule of International Weightlifting Federation,” the letter said.

Gulati, also a high-ranking air force official, said the federation would protest the government move to have the trials scrapped and its attempts to handpick who should go to Beijing.

“To thrust your opinion on the selection committee of an autonomous federation will be objected and fought out as infringement on our autonomy,” Gulati said.—AFP