The Athletics Federation of India tonight told the Sports Ministry that triple jumper Renjith Maheswary was never punished by it for a dope offence, a development which may get him the Arjuna Award.
Hours before he was to be presented the prestigious Arjuna Award on August 31, Maheswary was told under dramatic circumstances that he will have to wait for the coveted honour till the completion of an inquiry on whether he had failed a dope test in 2008.
He was, however, assured that he would get the prestigious award if he comes clean after an inquiry by Sports Secretary P K Deb. National record holder Maheswary has all along maintained that he has done nothing wrong and he deserved the Award.
Late tonight, the AFI sent the report sought by Sports Ministry on whether Maheswary had been punished for any dope offence.
AFI President Adille Sumariwala told PTI that the report has been sent to the Sports Ministry after a search of the files of the last five years.
"We have sent the report to the Sports Ministry," he said without elaborating.
A source in the AFI said that the federation had written to the Ministry that Maheswary had never been suspended for any dope offence.
"The report says Maheswary has never been suspended for any dope offence. It says the AFI has no knowledge of punishment being handed to Maheswary for any dope violation. It has no such record," the source said.
Earlier in the day, Sports Secretary had said that Ministry was waiting for the report from the federation.
"We are waiting for a report from the AFI. There is no record with SAI about Maheswary having failed a dope test and so we have asked the AFI to tell us regarding this issue," he said.
Reports have quoted Deb as saying that Meheswary could have taken the banned drug (Ephedrine stimulant) "accidentally" under prescription by a doctor.
But Deb said that Maheswary's fate will depend on whether he was punished by the AFI for a dope offence.
