Pallavi caused unhappiness in our home, Akbar's wife defends him
Mallika, the wife of former MoS External Affairs Ministry MJ Akbar, has rubbished the allegations of rape leveled on her husband by journalist Pallavi Gogoi. Speaking to ANI, Mallika said she didn't know the reason behind it but Pallavi was certainly lying. She added she kept quiet after the #MeToo movement dragged her husband's name, but couldn't stay silent any longer.
Pallavi flaunted her relationship with Akbar, says his wife
Mallika said Pallavi caused unhappiness in her home for a long time. "I learned of her&my husband's involvement through her calls&her public display of affection in my presence," she said. According to Mallika, Pallavi flaunted her relationship with Akbar which caused anguish and hurt to her family. "I don't know Pallavi's reasons for telling this lie but a lie it is," she said.
I watched them dance close, says Mallika
"At an Asian Age party at our home, crowded with young journalists, I have watched with mortification and pain as they danced close. I had confronted my husband at the time and he decided to prioritize his family," Mallika told ANI.
"Tushita and Pallavi didn't seem like sexual assault victims"
Further, Mallika said Pallavi and Tushita Patel (another colleague of hers) frequented their home. She said they happily drank and dined with the family. "Neither carried the haunted look of victims of sexual assault," she said. In an op-ed for The Washington Post, Pallavi wrote she confided in Tushita about the abuse. Notably, Tushita was one of the journalists who accused Akbar of harassment.
Akbar's wife fiercely defends him
Backstory: After incessant abuse, Akbar raped Pallavi, she alleges
Pallavi, an Asian Age employee, was abused by Akbar. He kissed her at his office and then months later raped her at a hotel room in Jaipur. She had gone there to discuss an assignment. Back then Pallavi didn't go to police thinking no would believe her, and ask why she went to the room. #MeToo stories gave her courage, she wrote.
