A foreign national, who was a former TERI employee, has come forward with a complaint of sexual harassment against former TERI chief RK Pachauri. In her statement through advocates Vrinda Grover and Ratna Appnender, the girl alleged she was a victim of Pachauri's sexual harassment when she was 19 years old and was Pachauri's secretary. When contacted, Pachauri's counsel Ashish Dixit said he would not comment on the issue as there was no formal complaint with the police or the court. "This has become a joke. Every time a woman is said to make allegations, it is only to press, not to police or court. Why is that every woman comes and reports to Vrinda Grover?"
On the allegations made by Dixit, Grover said: "Is there a new law that a girl cannot speak up about her abuse without an FIR. I had written to DCP South and former commissioner of police about the incident but no response was received." The girl began her statement with the newspaper reports she read that spoke of a sexual harassment case against Pachauri in 2015. I am zero per cent surprised. I can very much relate to what the other women wrote in her statement.
When I was 19, I worked at TERI for four months as Pachauri's secretary." In the statement, the girl alleges, "From the beginning, I noted a big difference in the way Pachauri behaved around me, compared to how other Indian men behaved with me. Other men kept a polite distance with limited physical contact. However, Pachauri would put his hands on my waist, hug me longer than felt comfortable, kiss me on the cheek and enquire about my private life.
She claimed when she tried to set a limit, the former TERI chief said he was just trying to make her comfortable in India and later cancelled her year-long contract in four months.
