The committee members after the meeting ended. Picture by Suman Tamang

Darjeeling, May 23: Darjeeling Gymkhana Club today expelled three members who were allegedly caught having sex with a woman in the card room 12 days ago.

The sex scandal, however, has left the premier club rudderless with chairman Mamanchand Agarawal announcing after a meeting of the 14-member club committee that the “house was dissolved”. Since the committee managed the affairs of the club, its dissolution means that Gymkhana is without any leadership for the moment.

It was learnt that of the three accused, two have pleaded “not guilty” to the showcause notice issued on Sunday. The third did not respond till this evening though the three-day deadline for the reply expired today.

Confirming the expulsion, Sawar Agarawal, a committee member, said: “The house unanimously decided that the three will have to go.”

At the meeting, questions were raised on who was “morally responsible” for the incident that brought “disrepute to the club”. Lack of consensus followed by chaos prompted two committee members, Tashi Pencho and Uttam Pradhan, to resign. It is learnt that Nirmal Agarawal, the managing member of the committee, too, has resigned.

“We put in our papers on moral grounds. Basant Pradhan and M.S. Jethvani (two other members of the committee) have conveyed verbally that they, too, will resign. However, there is a constitutional crisis in the club as the chairman dissolved the house,” said Pencho.

When The Telegraph caught up with B.M. Garg on the club premises, the vice-chairman said: “The house has been dissolved. Ask about the details inside (where the meeting was taking place).” He was accompanied by Mamanchand Agarawal.

None of the members are sure if Agarawal can still be referred to as the chairman of the club. The problem, however, lies elsewhere as the minutes of the meeting are ratified only after the draft is sent to the chairman for approval.

With Agarawal walking out of the meeting, some of the members were found discussing alternatives. They want to request Agarawal to carry on with his duties. If he refuses, the members might approach governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, the ex-officio president, with the plea to appoint an administrator.