Kochi: Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) former president T C Mathew has been stripped of his primary membership in the state body.
The decision was taken at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the newly-elected office-bearers of the KCA held here on Friday. The move was based on the findings of an internal inquiry committee, constituted on the orders of the ombudsman to probe the misappropriation charges against former KCA officials including Mathew. The four-member committee had recommended the removal of Mathew from the primary membership in the state body.
According to current KCA president Jayesh George and secretary Sreejith V Nair, Mathew, who had also served as the vice-president of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for many years, was shown the door after ombudsman V Ramkumar agreed with the internal panel’s findings.
Mathew had been suspended from the KCA in November 2017 following a slew of misappropriation charges to the tune of Rs 2.16 crore that included irregularity in awarding contracts to blast rocks with explosives at the KCA’s 10-acre land in Manakkad. He was also accused of embezzling funds for renting an apartment in Kochi for his personal use.
Ready for legal battle
Meanwhile, Mathew came down heavily on the current office-bearers of the KCA and said that the decision to strip him of the state body’s primary membership was arbitrary and illegal.
“This is unjustifiable and violation of natural justice. I was suspended from the KCA on flimsy and false charges. The internal inquiry committee appointed by the KCA did not allow me to defend myself. The Ombudsman’s verdict was also unfair since I was not given a chance to offer my side of the story,” he said and added the he was ready to lead a legal fight to prove his innocence.
