Narvekar retaliates, removes Joshi

Sandesh Prabhudesai
29 May 2001  

The probe into the bogus ticket scandal of the final ODI between India and Australia is still inconclusive. But a new cricket has begun within the Goa Cricket Association - called the expulsion game !

After coming out of one-month hibernation, Dayanand Narvekar, the GCA president and former deputy chief minister, has now removed vice president Pankaj Joshi and C Ashok, the joint secretary as the office bearers.

Joshi, who was functioning as the acting president during Narvekar's absence, has however sought injunction from the district and sessions court, imposing further restraints on his functions till 8 June.

While granting him anticipatory bail last month, the high court had restrained Narvekar from functioning as the president till 26 May. With a fear that he would strike back now, his opponents approached the district court and succeeded in getting further restraints imposed upon him.

It was argued in the court that the matter challenging high court on the anticipatory bail was pending before the Supreme Court. Similarly, the district court was holding the sealed ballots, which would decide removal of the president, secretary as well as the whole managing committee.

The ballots had to be produced in the court as Narvekar had challenged the general body meeting called by Joshi on 21 May for this purpose. "While the meeting was illegal, the court has been misled to impose restraints on my functioning", says Narvekar.

In retaliation, the Congress MLA has now removed Joshi and Ashok, while appointing Prasad Fatarpekar as the vice president and Sanjay Kanekar as the joint secretary. Akbar Mulla has been appointed the treasurer, in place of Rama Shankardas, who was arrested by the police for his direct involvement into the bogus ticket racket.

According to Narvekar, the constitution empowers him to appoint or remove any office bearer without even convening a meeting. "The secretary would however now convene managing committee meeting with six-day notice", he said.

Terming the general body meeting convened by the managing committee in his absence as totally illegal, Narvekar said the member clubs are now planning to convene a special general body meeting with one-month notice.

Joshi, while claiming that he has not received any communication of being removed as the vice president, said he is acting as per his conscience to save cricket from going into wrong hands. "I hope the court will uphold the truth", he quips.

Meanwhile, Karnal Singh, the DIG of Police, denies that investigations into the bogus cricket scandal have come to a grinding halt. "In fact we will shortly file the chargesheet", he claims. The police claim that Narvekar is the key person behind the scandal.

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