New Delhi: As the former minister, MJ Akbar continues to deny the sexual harassment allegations levelled against him by 19 journalists, yet another woman has come forward to share her account.
Pallavi Gogoi, who is currently working as business editor of National Public Radio in Washington, shared her ordeal with The Washington Post. She alleged that Akbar raped her during her stint with the Indian newspaper The Asian Age when she was 22 years old.
Gogoi wrote, "When I checked back, Akbar said I could come discuss the story in his hotel in Jaipur, far from Delhi. In his hotel room, even though I fought him, he was physically more powerful. He ripped off my clothes and raped me. Instead of reporting him to the police, I was filled with shame. I didn’t tell anyone about this then. Would anyone have believed me? I blamed myself. Why did I go to the hotel room?"
The US-based journalist also listed a few more instances of sexual misconduct by the then-editor, Akbar saying, "What was worse was that after that first time, his grip over me got tighter. I stopped fighting his advances because I felt so helpless. He continued to coerce me. For a few months, he continued to defile me sexually, verbally, emotionally."
The Washington Post also claimed to have got in touch with the former minister's lawyer Sandeep Kapur regarding these accusations and received the response, “My client states that these [incidents and allegations] are false and expressly denied.”