India's version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" has gone out of production because of host Amitabh Bachchan's health woes.

Bachchan, 63, underwent abdominal surgery in December and is still not well enough to resume taping, a Star TV official told .

After Bachchan's son, Abhishek, declined a request to step in for his ailing father, the network decided to scrap the show.

"Millionaire," called "Kaun Banega Crorepati," has drawn an average 15 million viewers since its launch in 2000.

However, according to news channel India TV, Star may have been forced to scrap the show because of an alleged scam in the selection of contestants.

KBC 2 received 25 lac calls for each episode from people desperate to be in the hot seat. But exactly how 10 contestants were chosen has now been called into question.

India TV says it got a call from a KBC fan, who claimed to have proof that the selection process was dubious. The fan, whose identity will be revealed today, works at a bank in Udaipur.

He also found that nine BSNL employees and one from MTNL made it to the final 10, in an apparent violation of the rules, which bar employees of KBC 2's advertisers and partners from participating. All this information is available on Star's website, Indya.com.