Amid mounting pressure to resign, the beleaguered Indian Hockey Federation president K P S Gill on Wednesday swung into damage control mode by forming a three-member committee to probe the bribe scandal involving secretary K Jothikumaran.

However, there was no respite for the under-fire Gill as the game’s governing body, FIH, called for appropriate steps to deal with the situation, while Sports Minister M S Gill continued to exert pressure by suggesting that younger administrators should be at the helm in sports federations.

“We have taken notice and are in close contact with the Indian Olympic Association to take action as they see it appropriate,” FIH President Els van Breda Vriesman said in an official reaction.

K P S Gill appointed a three-member committee to probe into the scandal, a face-saving move apparently aimed at pacifying the growing voices of dissent.

Formed two days after the expose, the committee will be headed by retired Judge of the Madras High Court Justice K M N Natarajan and will also include former Director General of Police, Tamil Nadu, W I Davaram (retd) and IHF joint secretary Rajeev Mehta.

Thorough inquiry

Gill said that the committee would look into every aspect of the allegations made in the telecast. “The Committee will meet at the earliest to inquire into every aspect shown in the telecast before submitting its findings to the Federation,” Gill said. The Sports Minister, who had only on Tuesday asked the IHF supremo to step down after being at the helm for close to 15 consecutive years, parried questions on the matter on Wednesday, saying everything would be sorted out in the Indian Olympic Association’s meeting on Monday.

“We have a meeting on Monday where Mr Gill has been invited. Everything would be sorted out there,” M S Gill said.

The IHF president had brushed aside the Minister’s call and had instead stated that “whole government does not resign if a minister does something wrong”.

But the Sports Minister chose a more subtle way to drive home the message by calling for more accountability in sports federations and stressing the need to allow younger people to take leadership positions.

“Ultimately, the Olympic movement and the sports federations have an important role to play in bringing India to the top on the Olympic ladder. They have to make sure that the money is used cleanly and there is accountability,” he said.

“We need younger people in the federations for handling management and technical aspects. You guys need to have younger staff who can handle things swiftly and efficiently,” he added.

Jothikumaran was caught on camera taking bribe purportedly to select a player in a sting operation by a television channel.

But Gill has been under fire even before the scandal broke out following India’s failure to qualify for the Olympics for the first time in 80 years.