Former Cricket Board President Raj Singh Dungarpur has been suspended from the Cricket Club of India for two years by the club's Executive Committee.
"Yes, he's been suspended for two years," informed a CCI source, who added that the action taken on Tuesday against one of Indian cricket's best known administrators is with immediate effect.
Dungarpur had been accused by the new Managing Committee headed by President I M Kadri of financial irregularities when he was the club's President and an enquiry was launched to go into the transactions during his tenure at the helm for more than a decade.
Among the charges framed against Dungarpur, who was CCI president till a few months ago, was that he had given temporary memberships indiscriminately which were against the club's norms.
Reacting to his suspension, Dungarpur told PTI, "My question is, can they suspend me? I am not working for the CCI.
"You know my contributions to the club. It's just the beginning and there will be plenty of turns and twists. Just wait for two or three days and I can tell you something concrete," he said.
A former President, who wished anonymity, said temporary memberships could be given only to those who are from outside Mumbai and are to be charged on a weekly basis.
The former first class cricketer, who had played for Rajasthan and rubbed shoulders with some of the greats of the game like C K Nayudu, was asked to appear before the Executive Committee last evening and then the decision to suspend him taken, according to the source.
CCI President Kadri, a well-known architect, could not be reached for his comments on the matter.
"Raj Singh has also been asked to vacate the room in which he was staying at the club and is now staying with his relatives," the source added.
Meanwhile, the supporters of Dungarpur were to meet later on Wednesday to decide the future course of action, including contesting the club's annual elections on December 27.
