A month after an anonymous blog on Medium.com sparked off a string of sexual harassment allegations against TVF founder Arunabh Kumar, the author of the blog, ‘Indian Fowler’, has broken her silence on the controversy. In a fresh post on the website, she claims to have filed a case against Kumar. However, her original blog on Medium.com remains deleted.
The new post by the alleged TVF ex-employee, published on 15 April, says that she wishes to fight this to the finish.
I have spoken to few of us and have found support. This time around, it’s a fight to the finish, hence I won’t take names. We have few cases filed in 3 cities and one of it is mine so I would expect courts to take cognizance of that. I hope it reaches logical conclusions (sic).‘Indian Fowler’, in an anonymous blog on Medium.com
'This Is My Last Attempt, I Have Filed the Case Finally'
The latest blog by ‘Indian Fowler’ is titled ‘The month that was.’ The entire text of the article is reproduced below.
“Hi All
I know it has been a long silence. Mostly because of what has been going around. Last time i tried to come out, i was hounded. So this time i have been discreet. More so because last time when i filed a complaint, my parents got few calls. This time they also dont know. I dont know how this time it will pan out. But i hope it does pan out well.
Few things first. I am thankful to all those who have stood up. I have spoken to few of us and have found support. This time around, its a fight to finish hence i wont take names. We have few cases filed in 3 cities and one of it is mine so i would expect courts to take a cognizance of that. I hope it reaches logical conclusions. Next to it is our fight of proof. If you know how it works, its your word against mine. So i cant prove how i was molested because it was done in private. It was done by a man so filthy that if i face him again tomorrow i will probably beat the shit out of him. At that point in time, it was a shock to me and i didnt have enough courage to do it. I still dont have one because last time i checked, he knew when i walked into the police station and that he had my parents phone number. So i need to refrain. Its difficult to be a woman in such a world. I dont know how many of you would understand it. But i have gone through it and i have seen it. Even women around you dont look at you nicely because they themselves think of you as a competition.
However, this is my last attempt. I have filed it finally. I dont know if it will reach a logical conclusion. If it does, i will drink a bottle of tequila that night. If it doesnt, i will trust that God doesnt exist.
But my belief is that God does exist and he will prevail upon anyone so see what that monster called arunabh is.
Till then. Adios” (sic)
The Original Post
The original anonymous blog posted on 12 March, that accused Arunabh Kumar of sexual harassment, had led to several women coming forth and levelling similar allegations against the TVF CEO.
The following is an excerpt from the original post by ‘Indian Fowler’.
I am abruptly called by Arunabh at 6.45 pm. I am in the local bank towards my home. He demands I come back to office. Apparently, I have not finished some part of my work. I reluctantly come back. There are three people in office. Two of them leave within five minutes of me coming in. And Arunabh is sitting on a chair in a casual manner. I walk up to him. He looks at me and asks me – “Chaturbhuj Sthan ka naam suni ho?” I am stunned. For non-starters, Chaturbhuj Sthan is the Red-Light district of Muzaffarpur. I didn’t respond. His second question – “Humko Chaturbhuj Sthan bahut pasand hai. Udhar commercial deals hoti hain. Tum bhi to commercial deal pe aayi ho”. I was getting where he was leading the discussion to. I avoided an interaction.
The blog went on to say: “I said “Arunabh, aap bade bhai hain. Meri tabiyat thodi theek nahi hai. Kya karna hai bataiye. Hum karke ghar jaayenge.” He suddenly holds my hand. Says “Madam, thoda role play karein.”
The post details another alleged incident of sexual harassment during a meeting at the TVF office, and says:
The Ola team was meeting him and we were taking notes. He walks out of the meeting with some excuse and calls me for some notes. I walk up. He says it’s time we do a ‘quicky’. I am stunned. And I told him I will go to the police. He says, “Police to meri pocket me hai”. I walked out deciding never to come back.
The original post, which was deleted within a fortnight of being published, had the following URL: https://medium.com/@Indian.fowler/the-indian-uber-that-is-tvf-37f9cb73df31#.443arpmjl
The new post, published on Saturday, has the following URL: https://medium.com/@Indian.fowler/the-month-that-was-95bcd0356b14
The username and the URL show that the account from which the new blog has been published is the same as the one from which the original article was posted.
The Case So Far
Over a fortnight after the first allegations surfaced online, at least two FIRs were registered by the Mumbai Police against Arunabh Kumar, based on complaints by women who have alleged sexual harassment by the TVF founder.
The Mumbai Police says that the probe against Kumar is underway.
The Quint has attempted to contact ‘Indian Fowler’ for further information. We have also reached out to TVF and Arunabh Kumar for their comments on the post. This article will be updated if and when they speak to us on the record.
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