The Asian Age

Fresh complaint against Pachauri

- PTI

New Delhi: Trouble mounted for R. K. Pachauri, facing sexual harassment charges, when another woman, a former employee of Teri, made similar allegation­s while demands were made to put his appointmen­t as executive V- C on hold. —

New Delhi, Feb. 10: Trouble mounted for Mr R. K. Pachauri, who is in the thick of a legal battle over sexual harassment allegation­s, when another woman, a former employee of TERI, on Wednesday came out in public making similar allegation­s, while demands were made for putting on hold his fresh appointmen­t as its executive vice- chairman.

The woman, to whom he had made sexual advances more than 10 years ago, on Wednesday also slammed TERI for appointing Mr Pachauri to a higher position, executive vice- chairman, two days ago.

Giving details of the case, her lawyer, Ms Vrinda Grover, said that they had first reported the complaint in February last year with the police which did not do anything till date, forcing her to come out in public with the charges.

“Pachauri would use the excuse of work assignment­s to repeatedly call me to his office room, even though there was no real work that he needed to be

The woman, to whom he had allegedly made sexual advances over 10 years ago, on Wednesday slammed TERI for appointing Mr Pachauri to a higher position

discussed. This made me feel very uncomforta­ble and I used to try to dodge some meetings or ask my colleagues to go for the meetings”, the woman said during a telephonic interview with NDTV.

When contacted, Mr Pachauri’s lawyer Ashish Dixit said he has not seen the second complaint and he cannot comment.

Mr Pachauri is already facing a case in the Delhi high court filed by another former TERI employee of sexual harassment.

Slamming Mr Pachauri’s appointmen­t, the second complainan­t said, “India’s pathetic record on crime against women has touched an abyss. R. K. Pachauri, a serial sexual harasser, who should have been punished by now, has actually been rewarded with a new and higher position!”

Ms Grover asserted that the woman wanted to appear as “material evidence” in the on- going case against Mr Pachauri to show his “character and conduct” with female employees.

The complaint, which originally made in February last year was circulated again on Wednesday, alleged, “Soon after I joined TERI and began interactin­g with Pachauri, he had renamed me with a sexually suggestive nickname ‘ xxxx’. He said that this was a derivative of my official name and suited me far better.”

 ??  ?? R. K. Pachauri
R. K. Pachauri

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