Chief Executive Officer of Asianet News, Abhinav Khare found himself in soup after an employee, Sonam Mahajan accused him of sexual harassment. Through the course of investigations, police say that the complainant's claims lack 'substance'.
Bengaluru: City police that probed the sexual allegations made by Sonam Mahajan against Chief Executive Officer of Asianet News, Abhinav Khare, have closed the report. This, after it came to the fore, through investigations, that the allegations made against Khare were "baseless and false".
In October 2018, Sonam Mahajan, who had joined the company as a strategy consultant, accused Abhinav Khare of sexually harassing her.
Sonam told the police that Khare had been harassing her just after a couple of days of joining the firm.
The police, however, interrogated as many as 15 employees, all of whom had said that Abhinav Khare was innocent and Sonam Mahajan had misbehaved with him.
The report stated that all those interrogated told the police that it was she who, on several occasions, found ways to sit closely to Khare or lean on him during meetings.
According to the police report, the witnesses said that throughout the time, Abhinav Khare had conducted himself with dignity and in a respectable manner.
The police also observed that none of the firm’s employees spoke in favour of the complainant. “In fact many of them alleged she behaved inappropriately. Some said her performance was not satisfactory and the complaint was vendetta,” the police report stated.
The police also added that Sonam Mahajan was asked to present her husband to make a statement and cooperate with the investigation, but she didn’t comply.
Investigations further revealed the likelihood of vendetta as a motive for Sonam to make the accusation.
During the course of interrogation, many stated that Sonam didn’t show interest in the work assigned to her. When Khare informed her that he wasn’t willing to continue the contract, Sonam allegedly pressured him into paying her Rs 15 lakh. Abhinav Khare reportedly refused the payment, which is believed to have driven Sonam to accuse him.
The police then decided to close the case stating that Sonam Mahajan had no "substance in her claims".
The police have filed B report, saying that a charge sheet can’t be filed against Abhinav Khare as there is no evidence against him.
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