Olympian Joydeep Karmakar, suspended by the West Bengal Rifle Association (WBRA) on February 12, may seek arbitration, sources close to the former shooter-turned-coach said on Thursday.

Arbitration is a formal, consensual method of dispute resolution where parties agree to submit their case to one or more neutral arbitrators for a binding decision, offering an alternative to court litigation.

“Yes, that’s an option. He does not want to move court. So arbitration is the best advice Joydeep has been given,” the source told The Telegraph. Karmakar, who is in Bhopal now, did not take calls or reply to messages.

Karmakar represented India in rifle-prone events at various international tournaments and narrowly missed a bronze medal at the London Olympics in 2012.

Before going ahead with its decision to suspend him, the WBRA had showcaused Karmakar for what the state body thought were offensive posts on social media.

Karmakar alleged that some WBRA officials were involved in corrupt practices and that the selection of the state team for the National Games was not fair.

“National Games Shooting Team is rigged! onus goes to West Bengal Rifle Association — WBRA! They are even bogged down to a few!” he had posted on January 18.

“Corruption in (sic) a different level! West Bengal selecting Shooters who are 250th ranking or more neglecting 20th National Ranked shooter!

“We have showcaused him (on February 12) for the objectionable post on Facebook and based on that, he has been barred from any activity in the state till he replies. He has asked for some time,” said Debkumar Samanta, the secretary general at WBRA.

“This is a standard legal procedure that’s followed so that there is no injustice to anybody,” he added.

People close to Karmakar alleged that WBRA had extended the suspension to shooters from his academy (Joydeep Karmakar Shooting Academy). “His academy sends one-third of the total shooters in the state for different national-level tournaments. Now these young shooters are being victimised for no fault of theirs,” one of Karmakar’s close aides said.

Karmakar, through a letter sent on Wednesday, has also sought the intervention of the National Rifle Association of India. “We have received the complaint and it has been forwarded to the president. It will be discussed at the appropriate level,” NRAI secretary Rajiv Bhatia informed.