Fresh trouble for RK Pachauri

NEW DELHI: Trouble mounted for R K Pachauri, who is in the thick of a legal battle over sexual harassment allegations, when another woman, a former employee of TERI, today came out in public making similar allegations while demands were made for putting on hold his fresh appointment as its Executive Vice Chairman.

The woman, to whom he had made sexual advances more than 10 years ago, today also slammed TERI for appointing Pachauri to a higher position, Executive Vice Chairman, two days ago.

Giving details of the case, her lawyer, Vrinda Grover, said that they had first reported the complaint in February last year with police which did not do anything till date forcing her to come out in public with the charges.

"Pachauri would use the excuse of work assignments to repeatedly call me to his office room, even though there was no real work that he needed to discuss.

"This made me feel very uncomfortable and I used to try to dodge some meetings or ask my colleagues to go for the meetings", the woman said during a telephonic interview.

When contacted, Pachauri's lawyer Ashish Dixit said he has not seen the second complaint and he cannot comment.

Pachauri is already facing a case in Delhi High Court filed by another former TERI employee of sexual harassment.

Slamming Pachauri's appointment, the second complainant said, "India's pathetic record on crime against women has touched an abyss. RK Pachauri, a serial sexual harasser, who should have been punished by now, has actually been rewarded with a new and higher position!"

Grover also asserted that the woman wanted to appear as "material evidence" in the on-going case against Pachauri to show his "character and conduct" with female employees.

The complaint, which originally made in February last year was circulated again today, alleged that "Soon after I joined TERI and began interacting with Pachauri, he had renamed me with a sexually suggestive nickname 'xxxx'. He said that this was a derivative of my official name and suited me far better."