CCI unsafe for members’ wives and daughters
Club member Dilip Laijawala , who had accused president Kekoo Nicholson of ‘stalking’ his married daughter, now sends email saying those helming the club have ‘no morals’.
While theBombay Gymkhana is making news for its run-ins with the BMC , the Cricket Club of India (CCI ) -- another hangout of the city’s elite a few km away at Churchgate -- is witnessing an ugly run-up to its presidential elections scheduled this weekend.
At the centre of the slanging match is the current president of the club, Kekoo Nicholson, and a member, Dilip Laijawala, who has accused Nicholson of “stalking” his daughter and “creating trouble in her marriage”.
Nicholson’s purported friendship with Laijawala’s daughter had set the tongues wagging at the club, and there was gossip that the woman and her husband, also a CCI member, were headed for separationz.
In June, Laijawala filed a complaint against Nicholson with the club management, saying, “Kekoo Nicholson has been trying to build illicit proximity with my married daughter. He has been warned umpteen number of times to stay away from my daughter and her children. I have also been observing the posts by Mr Nicholson on hisFacebook profile page about my daughter which is causing tremendous embarrassment to me and my family. He has been pursuing my daughter to enter into an illicit relationship with him. It is plausible that the CCI guest room has been misused for this purpose.”
In his email on Monday addressing the CCI members, Laijawala insisted – without naming anyone – that attempts were made to pass off his complaint as “gossip”.
“Please note what has transpired is not a gossip but a matter of fact. Attempts are also being made to dismiss it off as a personal matter. However, the person concerned has posted my daughter’s pictures and posts in the social media. This is not a personal matter but it concerns us all. We cannot have people at the helm of our club who claim to do work for the club but lack in moral values. Our club should be a safe place for our members, their wives and daughters,” the email read.
Nicholson has complained about the email to the club’s election organising committee. He toldMumbai Mirror that the email left nobody in doubt that it was directed at him. “People are not stupid,” he told Mumbai Mirror. “I have always placed the institution before anyone else. And these allegations are crazy… I haven’t misbehaved with anyone ever,” he said.
In response, Laijawala said that he had not mentioned anyone in his email. “It is only for those who understand,” he said. “If the CCI management questions me, I will reply. I am on the right side and people are intelligent,” he told this newspaper.
The fight has split the members’ loyalties right down the middle, with a few supporting Laijawala, and others saying he has vested interests in getting another presidential candidate,Kapil Malhotra , elected. Several members said that Laijawala and Malhotra had almost succeeded in getting Nicholson removed as president.
“It emerged that Laijawala’s daughter was not allowed to get out of her house, and Nicholson himself went to the Marine Drive Police Station to file a harassment complaint on her behalf. He wrote out a complaint on the CCI letterhead, and was made to apologise for it by the management,” a member said.
The drama didn’t end there. Insiders said that Nicholson was asked to give in writing that he would not contest any further election at the club in return of being spared of impeachment, which he not only refused, but also threatened to take the club to court.
Members opposing Malhotra have also raised the issue of the project implementation committee, which has Malhotra’s cousin,Rakesh Kapoor , as member. According a member’s complaint regarding financial irregularity, now being probed into separately, key members of the project implementation committee have made personal gains in relocation of the club library and renovation of the card room, a washroom, and pantry.
“Nothing has been done but Rs Rs 70 lakh have already been spent on renovation. We have come to know that another Rs 1.78 crore plus taxes are going to be spent. The probe report will be out only after the elections, and to ensure they are not prosecuted, the Malhotra faction is coming out with such allegations to divert members’ attention,” an executive committee member said.
On Tuesday, members were caught by surprise as a mail from one of the club’s official email was sent out, canvassing for Malhotra. At the time of going to press, members were trying to register complaints with the election committee. “Emails canvassing for particular candidate from the club’s official email is a fit case for the candidate’s disqualification,” one of the complaints said.
While the
At the centre of the slanging match is the current president of the club, Kekoo Nicholson, and a member, Dilip Laijawala, who has accused Nicholson of “stalking” his daughter and “creating trouble in her marriage”.
Things took a turn for the worse on Monday, when Laijawala sent an email to around several members, saying the people in-charge of the club “lacked in moral values”.
Nicholson’s purported friendship with Laijawala’s daughter had set the tongues wagging at the club, and there was gossip that the woman and her husband, also a CCI member, were headed for separationz.
In June, Laijawala filed a complaint against Nicholson with the club management, saying, “Kekoo Nicholson has been trying to build illicit proximity with my married daughter. He has been warned umpteen number of times to stay away from my daughter and her children. I have also been observing the posts by Mr Nicholson on his
In his email on Monday addressing the CCI members, Laijawala insisted – without naming anyone – that attempts were made to pass off his complaint as “gossip”.
“Please note what has transpired is not a gossip but a matter of fact. Attempts are also being made to dismiss it off as a personal matter. However, the person concerned has posted my daughter’s pictures and posts in the social media. This is not a personal matter but it concerns us all. We cannot have people at the helm of our club who claim to do work for the club but lack in moral values. Our club should be a safe place for our members, their wives and daughters,” the email read.
Nicholson has complained about the email to the club’s election organising committee. He told
In response, Laijawala said that he had not mentioned anyone in his email. “It is only for those who understand,” he said. “If the CCI management questions me, I will reply. I am on the right side and people are intelligent,” he told this newspaper.
The fight has split the members’ loyalties right down the middle, with a few supporting Laijawala, and others saying he has vested interests in getting another presidential candidate,
“It emerged that Laijawala’s daughter was not allowed to get out of her house, and Nicholson himself went to the Marine Drive Police Station to file a harassment complaint on her behalf. He wrote out a complaint on the CCI letterhead, and was made to apologise for it by the management,” a member said.
The drama didn’t end there. Insiders said that Nicholson was asked to give in writing that he would not contest any further election at the club in return of being spared of impeachment, which he not only refused, but also threatened to take the club to court.
Members opposing Malhotra have also raised the issue of the project implementation committee, which has Malhotra’s cousin,
“Nothing has been done but Rs Rs 70 lakh have already been spent on renovation. We have come to know that another Rs 1.78 crore plus taxes are going to be spent. The probe report will be out only after the elections, and to ensure they are not prosecuted, the Malhotra faction is coming out with such allegations to divert members’ attention,” an executive committee member said.
On Tuesday, members were caught by surprise as a mail from one of the club’s official email was sent out, canvassing for Malhotra. At the time of going to press, members were trying to register complaints with the election committee. “Emails canvassing for particular candidate from the club’s official email is a fit case for the candidate’s disqualification,” one of the complaints said.
