RK Pachauri in hospital, activists want him to resign from Teri
NEW DELHI: Dr Rajendra K. Pachauri, who quit as head of the UN’s climate panel Tuesday following accusation of sexual harassment, was hospitalised at New Delhi’s Fortis Escorts Heart Institute on Wednesday after he arrived with complaints high blood pressure and palpitation.
“He is suffering from a cardiac problem and underwent a stent procedure some years ago. He has been frequently visiting doctors for checkups,” said his lawyer Shankh Sengupta.
Pachauri, 74, resigned on Tuesday as chairman of the Nobel Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and went on leave as head of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) after a 29-year-old woman filed an FIR against him.
The researcher from TERI accused him of repeated inappropriate behavior and harassment through emails, texts and WhatsApp messages. He denied the allegations, saying his emails and mobile phone were hacked.
In a letter addressed to TERI, social activists such as Indira Jaising, Syeda Hameed, Vrinda Grover, Kavita Krishnan etc. demanded his resignation from TERI, saying the accused should set “an example of exemplary conduct” by immediately resigning. The petition added despite the laws put in place “women in this country continue to be vulnerable in public places, in their homes and at the workplace”.
(With inputs from HTC)