The MIDC police on Wednesday registered an FIR against Arunabh Kumar, Chief Executive Officer of The Viral Fever, after a victim came forward and recorded her statement.
The founder of the digital media start-up found himself in the eye of the storm earlier this month after several women posted anonymously on social media platforms that they had been sexually harassed by him.
Confirming the development, Mumbai Police spokesperson DCP Ashwini Sanap said, “An FIR of sexual harassment and insulting the modesty of a woman has been registered with the MIDC police against Mr. Kumar.”
Sources said the complaint was registered after a former TVF employee approached the police and recorded her statement on Wednesday. The complainant is among several women who had posted online about the alleged sexual harassment, and officials said she came to the police station on her own. Her detailed statement was recorded about the harassment she allegedly faced at Mr. Kumar’s hands, and the FIR was registered late in the evening, police said.
Last week, city-based lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee had submitted an application to MIDC police station seeking an FIR against Mr. Kumar. However, in the absence of a victim’s statement, which is necessary in cases of sexual harassment, the police were unable to take the case forward. Using their official Twitter handle, police had also put out appeals urging victims of sexual harassment to come forward and report the crime.
“I am happy that a victim has finally come forward and taken this brave step. Hopefully, justice will now be done for all the victims,” Mr. Siddiquee said.
The police will begin questioning Mr. Kumar on Thursday in connection with the case.
Earlier this month, an anonymous blog post by a woman alleging sexual harassment by Mr. Kumar when she worked at TVF between 2014 and 2016 had gone viral on social media. It was followed by similar allegations by some other women.
TVF had denied all the allegations and said it would “leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice for making such false allegations”.
Mr. Kumar, an IIT graduate, founded TVF in 2011.
