NEW DELHI – The chief executive of India s powerful cricket board has beengiven a week to explain allegations of sexual harassment against him, asthe country s fledgling #MeToo movement gathers pace.
Rahul Johri, CEO of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), wasnamed in an account shared by Indian author Harnidh Kaur on Twitter.
The unidentified woman accused Johri of assaulting her at his home, whilehe was working with a different organisation.
“The truth is, it was so sudden and so manipulated that I had no chance ateven knowing what the hell this was,” the woman said.
The Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators, which oversees theBCCI, on Saturday asked Johri to explain.
Even though the allegations “do not pertain to his employment with BCCI,”the committee said it had given him a week to “submit his explanation.”
Johri, CEO of the world s richest cricket body, has yet not responded to arequest for comment.
“There are certain media reports today, including in the social media,pertaining to Rahul Johri,” the committee said in a statement.
“These reports disclose allegations of sexual harassment made against MrJohri, by an unnamed persons through a Twitter handle. The allegations alsorelated to his previous employment with a large media house,” it added.
India s belated #MeToo movement has made headlines over the last few dayswith women sharing powerful accounts of alleged harassment by severalpowerful men including a minister, Bollywood filmmakers, news editors andcomedians.
On Friday, the production of a Bollywood blockbuster was halted after thefilm s lead called for harassment claims against its director and co-starto be “stringently” investigated.
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Star Akshay Kumar said he had requested that the making of “Housefull 4” bestopped following allegations against director Sajid Khan and actor NanaPatekar.
Accusations that Patekar behaved inappropriately on a film set 10 years agosparked India s #MeToo movement, which has since engulfed Bollywoodfigures, a government minister and several comedians and top journalists.
Three women, an actor, an assistant director and a journalist took toTwitter on Thursday to accuse Khan of sexual harassment.
The actress said Khan had insisted that she strip during an audition whilethe journalist alleged the director had flashed his penis at her during aninterview.
Filmmakers Anurag Kashyap and Vikramaditya Motwane announced at the weekendthey were severing ties with Bollywood director Vikas Bahl over a sexualassault allegation.
Bahl denies that he sexually assaulted a female employee of Phantom Films,the production house behind Netflix series “Sacred Games”, in 2015 and hasthreatened to sue Kashyap and Motwane for defamation.
Several women, mostly journalists, have also accused India s junior foreignminister M.J. Akbar of sexual harassment in the last few days.
Akbar, who was a top news editor before entering politics, has not yetcommented on the allegations or demands for his resignation. – APP/AFP
