Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu
File image of Sanjita Chanu

Commonwealth Games 2018 Gold medal-winning weightlifter Khumukcham Sanjita Chanu has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to institute a high-level independent inquiry into her doping controversy.

Supporting her demand for justice, the All Kakching Khunou Sports Association on Tuesday held a rally at Kakching Khunou Bazar.

Chanu’s family along with eight other civil society organizations under the banner of Joint Action Committee against Chanu Injustice Doping Conspiracy submitted a memorandum to Modi on June 27.

The memorandum has highlighted all aspects of the doping controversy, starting from the urine sample taken by the United States Anti Doping Agency (USADA) on November 18 in Las Vegas, prior to the start of the World Weightlifting Championship.

The memorandum also mentions that Chanu‘s name was not included in the list announced by the International Weightlifting Federation, which included the names of four lifters who had failed the dope test on January 23.

Chanu said the Indian Weightlifting Federation (IWF) refused to seek a clarification from the International Weightlifting Federation as well as from the USADA. She accused the IWF of trying to silence her voice and for threatening her about terminating her job in the railways, reports The Telegraph.

She is employed with the Northeastern Frontier Railway (NFR) as a senior TT.

The committee also urged the Prime Minister to put pressure on the IWF and the USADA to conduct a DNA test to confirm the samples were not Chanu’s.