New Delhi: In a twisted turn of events, nine women employees of All India Radio’s (AIR) Shahdol station in Madhya Pradesh paid an unfair price for calling out their alleged #MeToo aggressor.
The women had publicly accused the station’s assistant director (programming), Ratnakar Bharti, of sexual harassment. A police complaint was filed against him and the Internal Complaint Committee (ICC) of AIR also declared him guilty a year ago. However, Bharti continues to be employed at the AIR Delhi headquarters 'under the strictest vigilance watch'.
Meanwhile, director general (AIR) Fayyaz Shehryar told TOI, “Every incident that has been reported has been probed by the Internal Complaints Committee. In the Shahdol instance, after the ICC verdict, Ratnakar Bharti was transferred immediately from Shahdol and he remains under the strictest vigilance watch at the DG Headquarters.”
All the nine women complainants have been relieved from their duties in the broadcasting division. However, Shehryar denied that these two instances are related, calling the sacking 'an annual affair where poor performers are weeded out following a three-tiered process.'
The AIR trade union has also formally approached Prasar Bharati chief executive Shashi Shekhar Vempati, demanding to reinstate the complainants and take the strictest action against the accused persons.