Two days after The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) announced the appointment of >R.K. Pachauri as its executive vice-chairman , a former woman staffer has come out with a detailed statement of the harassment she allegedly suffered at his hands while she was employed under him.
The Hindu had reported in July last >how the Delhi police had not taken up the case of many women who had complained of sexual harassment . Wednesday’s statement, accessed by The Hindu , was released by one of these complainants. She was working with the TERI magazine when Mr. Pachauri was the director-general, and her job required her to interact with him.
Referring to R. K. Pachauri as a “serial sexual harasser”, the complainant in the statement released through her lawyer, Vrinda Grover, says Mr. Pachauri used the excuse of assignments to repeatedly call her to his office, though there was no work to discuss. The woman has said in her statement that R K. Pachauri used sexually suggestive nicknames to call her, and made sexually loaded remarks. She narrated instances when Mr. Pachauri boasted to her about his virility and strength, despite his old age.
Mr. Pachauri also allegedly handed over a manuscript of his novel containing graphic sexual descriptions to the complainant. The novel, ‘Return to Almora’, was later published. When the ex-employee raised these concerns with Commodore Joshi, the then director, administration, services and TERI press, he refused to believe her, saying she may have “misread Mr. Pachauri’s warmth,” the statement said.
When Mr. Pachauri saw her resignation letter, he allegedly threatened her with dire consequences.
Pachauri’s affidavit
In an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court in response to the earlier charge of sexual harassment made against him, Mr. Pachauri said the allegation that he had asked TERI officials to work towards an out-of-court settlement with the complainant was not correct.
>He said the complainant’s allegation was misleading and a “figment of imagination”.
Mr. Pachauri said it was a matter of record that he was away from TERI between February and July last year, and it was only after permission from the sessions court that he was allowed to enter the office.
