A foreign national has accused environmentalist RK Pachauri of sexually harassing her while she worked in India at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), according to reports. This is the third sexual harassment case slapped against Pachauri since last February.
The woman, who reportedly lives in Europe, said she "was 0 percent surprised" of the news reports about the alleged sexual harassment cases against the 75-year-old former TERI chief. "I can very much relate to what the other women wrote in her statement," she said in a statement published on Scribd.
She alleged Pachauri harassed her for four months in 2008 while she worked as his secretary. She was 19-year-old then.
"Pachauri would put his hands on my waist repeated times, he would hug me longer than felt comfortable, kissed me on the cheek and inquired about my private life," she wrote in the statement.
"He would call me during non-working hours and holidays to ask me to come to his office and when arriving it became evident that he had no specific task for me. Pachauri would indulge in frivolous talk and try to get close to me," she added.
After a couple of more such incidents, she sought transfer to a different department, but Pachauri continued to contact her, she claimed. Her contract was terminated soon after she took the transfer. "My contract, which was for a period of 1 year, was abruptly terminated after a period of just 4 months," she wrote.
"When he terminated my contract, I did not think there was any point in contesting it, as from my conversations with former employees at TERI I had gotten the feeling that it would be of little use trying to challenge any decision of Pachauri's. I felt very relieved that I would not have to face Pachauri's sexual harassment any longer. I left New Delhi a few weeks after this and returned to Europe," she added.
Two women had, since February last year, filed cases of sexual harassment against Pachauri. One of them alleged that Pachauri harassed her by sending emails, WhatsApp and text messages.
Another complaint was filed in February this year. The second complainant claimed that he sexually harassed her between 2003 and 2004, according to NDTV.
Pachauri, who has denied all the allegations, was appointed as the vice-executive chairman of TERI but was sent on an indefinite leave after protests against him intensified.
