ScoopWhoop ex-staff accuses co-founder of sexual harassment
We are fully prepared to accept the findings of the investigations and dutifully take the necessary action if found guilty.
A former female employee of ScoopWhoop has filed a case of sexual harassment against the co-founder of the Delhi-based media and news portal, Suparn Pandey, the second such complaint to hit a start-up in recent days.
She accused two people in the management of trying to hush up the matter and threatening her when she first complained to them about the alleged harassment at the workplace, because of which she decided to approach the police.
Chinmoy Biswal, additional DCP (South), said the woman approached the police on March 28 after which a case under Indian Penal Code sections 354 A (sexual harassment), 509 (using words or gestures to insult the modesty of a woman) and 506 (criminal intimidation) was lodged at Vasant Kunj (South).
Police said they issued a notice to Pandey to join the probe but no one was arrested in the case till Wednesday.
Responding to the allegations, ScoopWhoop issued a statement, saying the woman’s complaint was forwarded to the Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) immediately on receipt and it was being enquired as per the law.
“As an FIR has also been filed separately by the complainant, and the police investigation is ongoing, we are extending full cooperation to the police to conduct a full and fair investigation into the matter. We are prepared to accept the findings of the investigations and dutifully take the necessary action if found guilty,” a part of their statement said.
The woman said Pandey sexually harassed her through the two years she worked at the firm.
Inappropriate and lewd remarks included asking her about her sexual preferences, calling names and sending her a lewd video that was accompanied by an obscene comment on her clothing, police sources said about the contents of the FIR.
On another occasion last June, Pandey allegedly kissed the woman’s forehead, against her will, on the pretext of calming her down after a meeting. The woman was alone at her desk, police said.
The woman first approached two other co-founders of the website with her complaint. But the duo allegedly threatened to defame her and ruin her career, forcing her to resign.
When HT contacted Pandey for his side of the story, he said his company would issue an official statement.
In the statement, ScoopWhoop acknowledged that a complaint was received, and said that they “have taken every step to ensure the complainant gets a fair hearing and are following the rule book on workplace harassment”.
“The Internal Complaints Committee constitutes of two of our most senior and experienced women employees and an independent observer who has served on ICC panels across various prestigious and international companies..,” the statement said.
In late March, a FIR was filed against Arunabh Kumar, CEO of digital entertainment start-up The Viral Fever, after a woman accused him of molestation.