#MeToo: Tiranga TV's employee harasses junior, sends sexually inappropriate messages
Days after senior journalist Barkha Dutt slammed Kapil Sibal and his wife for duping 200 employees of Tiranga TV, the news channel has been hit by yet another controversy. An employee named Himanshi Gupta accused Suresh Kumar, her senior at the channel, of sexual harassment. Suresh sent sexually inappropriate texts to Himanshi and didn't stop even after she asked him to mend his ways.
Suresh harassed Himanshi, claimed he "liked" her
On Tuesday, Himanshi took to Twitter to detail the harassment she faced. She revealed Suresh, a senior producer at Tiranga TV who also claims to have worked with ESPN, called her incessantly. He also sent her lewd messages. When Himanshi called Suresh out, he claimed he "liked her". Even after saying that he would not trouble her, he kept chasing her.
This is the tweet Himanshi put out
Like Himanshi, Suresh harassed another employee
Himanshi's tweet evoked plenty of reactions, instantly. And it turns out Himanshi wasn't his only victim. Divya Kulhans, who goes by @kulhans_divya97, said Suresh did the same with her. She informed about the harassment to her seniors and immediately blocked him. However, after she left the organization, Suresh tried to get in touch with her through Facebook.
Suresh has always been a molester: Divya
Dutt called incident repulsive, NCW chief promised support
Meanwhile, Dutt called Suresh's actions repulsive. Separately, Rekha Sharma, the chairperson of National Commission for Women said, "I am going to send this to police tomorrow for sure..its so so disgusting. This psycho should be in jail. (sic)" There were others who offered legal aid to Himanshi and appreciated her courage. She said she has filed a complaint with NCW.
However, some doubted Himanshi's intentions, said she wanted likes
However, there were others on Twitter who questioned Himanshi's intentions. When one user asked why she didn't go to the police but released screenshots, another one said she wouldn't have received "likes" this way. Responding to naysayers, she wrote, "When we raise our people say that these are our ways to get famous! When we don't, they say we are weak!"
Notably, Tiranga TV is being jolted by controversies lately
On a related note, this is the second time this week that Tiranga TV came in news. Earlier, Dutt wrote a long Twitter thread accusing Congress leader Kapil Sibal and his wife Promila of duping nearly 200 employees. The Sibals, who started the news channel before Lok Sabha elections, have allegedly refused to give salaries to the sacked employees.
Despite #MeToo wave, nothing has changed on the ground
Himanshi's story confirms men didn't learn anything from the #MeToo wave which hit India last year. India's #MeToo movement died more quickly than anyone thought, and it seems predators are back to business. They are clearly not willing to learn more about consent and don't fear consequences. Meanwhile, women who spoke up are still being accused of doing it for "publicity".
