TVF CEO Arunabh Kumar booked in sexual harassment case in Mumbai

Arunabh Kumar

TVF founder Arunabh Kumar, accused by 50 women of sexual harassment since March 12, was finally booked in a case after a victim came forward in Mumbai and filed a complaint.

The MIDC Police has registered an FIR against Arunabh FIR under sections 354 (A) and 509 of the IPC, which refer to unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures, a demand or request for sexual favours and insulting the modesty of a woman.

Earlier, there was specualtion that he would get away without even a rap on the knuckles after the Mumbai police said the case against the TVF founder was likely to be shut by the end of this week because no victim had come forward.

An anonymous blogpost kicked up a storm in the entertainment startup bubble on March 12 and started a dialogue on sexual harassment of women in the workplace. The poster - under the pseudonym Indian Fowler, in a reference to techie Susan Fowler, who exposed the culture of sexual harassment and discrimination at ride hailing app firm Uber - made allegations of facing repeated sexual harassment at the workplace from Kumar over two years. That blog opened a Pandora's box. Many other women made similar allegations against Kumar, some anonymously. As of March 15, there were 50 complaints.

On March 16, noted criminal lawyer Rizwan Siddiquee filed a third party complaint against Kumar, forcing the Mumbai Police - which until then only implored victims to come forward - to file a case.

In an official statement, TVF had denied all allegations against its founder. "All the allegations made against TVF and its team in the article are categorically false, baseless and unverified. We take a lot of pride in our team and in making TVF a safe workplace that is equally comfortable for women and men. We will leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice for making such false allegations," it said.