Are there over 50 sexual harassment accusations against TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar now?
The list of sexual harassment allegations against TVF Founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar is growing longer by the day. Till now, a Mid Day report says, there have been over 50 allegations leveled against him.
It started with one woman speaking out.
Now, in three days' time, the number of sexual harassment accusations against The Viral Fever TVF Founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar has crossed over 50, says a Mid Day report.
A said former TVF employee, under the pseudonym The Indian Fowler, had put up a blog post on Medium on Monday accusing Kumar of repeatedly sexually harassing her. The blog went viral, and many other women came forward admitting that they too had had similar experiences with Kumar.
At the moment, this steadily-rising number of complaints against Kumar is said to be sitting on 50.
A Mid Day report says the Twitter handle that shared The Indian Fowler's blog first has received over 50 direct messages from persons claiming to have been sexually harassed by Kumar. The report adds that the said Twitter user agreed to make this information public "only after it is verified".
But from the conversation that is happening on Twitter, this report does not seem accurate.
As per what the above mentioned Twitter user says, there are 6 verified accusations against Kumar.
ARUNABH KUMAR'S RESPONSE
Arunabh Kumar addressed these accusations yesterday saying that he "compliments" women for being "sexy". This statement didn't quite go down well with people on social media.
Speaking to Mumbai Mirror, Kumar said, "The kind of insinuations the FB post makes are untrue. I am a heterosexual, single man and when I find a woman sexy, I tell her she's sexy. I compliment women. Is that wrong? Having said that, I am very particular about my behaviour - I will approach a woman, but never force myself."
TVF'S STAND
In response to the original viral post by The Indian Fowler, the TVF team lashed out saying they would "leave no stone unturned" to track down the writer, and "bring them to severe justice". The accusations were also called "ludicrous, defamatory and unverified".
Although an internal inquiry is said to have been initiated, TVF stands by their stance that they never hired anyone from Muzaffarpur (The Indian Fowler claimed to belong from there).
The company also made it clear the other accusations against Kumar should be addressed by him personally, and not the company.
Even many TVF employees have come out in support of Kumar, defending him against the sexual harassment accusations.
POLICE'S RESPONSE
Speaking to India Today, Mumbai Police Commissioner Dutta Padsalgikar said that in such cases, there should be a formal complaint for an investigation to be launched.
When asked whether cases could not be filed taking into consideration the attention it has gotten, he said, "it would not be a complete case without an aggrieved person registering a case. We have been asking the victims to come forward so that law can take it's course."