After multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, The Times of India Hyderabad Editor, KR Sreenivas, has resigned.
A number of women have accused Sreenivas of sending lewd messages, making sexually-implicit moves, mentally torturing them and touching them inappropriately.
This comes soon after Gautam Adhikari, the founding editor of DNA Mumbai and former executive editor of the The Times of India, who had resigned as a senior fellow of the Center for American Progress (CAP) after he was accused in multiple allegations of sexual misconduct, reported The News Minute.
Allegations Against Sreenivas
There is still no clarity whether he was asked to give in his resignation or he stepped down voluntarily, reported The News Minute. He has reportedly stated in his resignation letter that he is quitting because he is being 'targeted.'
After a journalist shared an account of being sexually harassed by her editor K R Sreenivas while they both worked at Bangalore Mirror in late 2007, several other women have come forward with similar stories over the last few days.
When the tweets stating allegations began to surface, TOI had asked Sreenivas to go on administrative leave pending inquiry.
“TOI is committed to providing all colleagues with a safe and conducive work environment, free of sexual harassment. In keeping with this commitment, the internal complaints committee of BCCL is looking into concerns that have been brought to our notice about KR Sreenivas. To ensure a fair and impartial inquiry, he has been asked to proceed on administrative leave pending closure of the inquiry. Please be assured that the committee is completely independent in its functioning,” an email sent out to TOI employees stated.
According to The Wire, on 8 October, journalist Sandhya Menon and six others – some anonymous – sent a petition to BCCL asking for Sreenivas, who is currently The Times of India’s resident editor in Hyderabad, to be terminated from employment.
Allegations Against Adhikari
Meanwhile, senior journalist Gautam Adhikari was accused of kissing at least three women without consent. In another, he was serving as the executive editor of the Times of India. One journalist recounted an incident from 2006 with Adhikari in the DNA office when she was just 22 years old.
Journalist and writer Tara Kaushal wrote in her blog, about her experience from 2006 about a sexual assault during the second meeting with Adhikari for a job interview at his DNA office. Adhikari was the editor-in-chief of the Mumbai edition newspaper at the time.
Journalist Sandhya Menon recounted the harassment she allegedly faced at the hands of Adhikari when he was the editor-in-chief of the Mumbai edition of DNA.
Writer and professor of journalism Sonora Jha tweeted, accusing Adhikari of sexual assault in 1995, in a hotel room. At the time, she was chief of metro bureau at The Times Of India — Bengaluru, and Adhikari was the executive editor.
Many senior journalists have been called out and the respective organisations have evoked the ICC to provide speedy redressal to the survivors. Here’s to all the women who have bravely come forward and reported.
(This is a developing story. We will update this as and when more journalists are ousted.)
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