After an anonymous blog went viral which alleged The Viral Fever (TVF) founder Arunabh Kumar of workplace sexual harassment, a molestation row had erupted. Now, with several women accusing Arunabh sexually harassing them, a complaint has been filed against the TVF CEO.
Senior advocate Rizwan Siddiqui took it upon himself to file a formal complaint against the TVF CEO in the molestation row. While speaking to our correspondent Vineeta Kumar, Siddiqui stated that the police were helpless in the matter. The police had argued that they couldn’t investigate the case without an FIR, which compelled Siddiqui to take the matter into his own hands. “I am helping the police department overcome this hurdle by becoming the first informant. Being the complainant, I have filed the particular complaint so that they are not handicapped,” he said.
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Siddiqui also said that filing a complaint himself was essential as none of the victims were willing to do so. He also claimed to be in touch with one of the accusers. However, he added that he has his apprehensions about trusting her as he hasn’t met her in person yet.
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Earlier, on Sunday, a blog post on Medium titled ‘The Indian Uber – That Is TVF’, written by an anonymous blogger, had gone viral. “I walk up. He says it’s time we do a quickie. I am stunned. And I told him I will go to the police. He said: `Police to meri pocket me hai’,” the author wrote. TVF had rubbished these claims as soon as the news blew out.
However, the tables turned against Arunabh Kumar as the number of accusation piled up with more and more women coming up to speak against the unsafe environment for females at The Viral Fever. However, TVF continued to dismiss the complaints as mere allegations, which were called “false” and “baseless”. TVF was heavily criticised over the next couple of days for ignoring the astounding amount of testimonies.
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While Arunabh had also “unconditionally and unequivocally” denied all the allegations against him, he stated that he will allow himself to be persecuted, if found guilty. “Social media has already declared me an offender, but I am ready to address all the allegations against me,” he said. He added, “TVF is bigger than me and if there is a remote chance that I have done any wrong, let me be persecuted.”
