The allegations by an unnamed person, who claimed to be an ex-colleague of Johri at the Discovery Channel, were posted on Twitter by an author, who later stated that she did not want the charges published nor her name used in the context
New Delhi: The #MeToo storm hit Indian cricket on Saturday when allegations of sexual assault against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri surfaced on Twitter. Shortly after, the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA) sent Johri a notice seeking an explanation for an anonymous account of alleged sexual harassment by him. He has been given a week to submit a statement.
The allegations by an unnamed person, who claimed to be an ex-colleague of Johri at the Discovery Channel, were posted on Twitter by an author, who later stated that she did not want the charges published nor her name used in the context.
Johri, who has so far not reacted to the charge, worked in various positions with the Discovery channel from 2001 to 2016 before taking over as the BCCI CEO.
The woman's tweet, accompanied by screenshots said, “…had emails sent about a BUNCH of head honchos in media. survivor has asked to not put out all the names. Rahul Johari, your #timesup #metoo”.
Responding to the post, the COA sought an explanation from Johri without specifying any timeline for its course of action.
A COA press release read, “There are certain media reports today, including in the social media, pertaining to Mr. Rahul Johri, CEO BCCI. The reports disclose allegations of sexual harassment made against Mr. Johri, by an unnamed person through a twitter handle. The allegations also relate to his previous employment with a large media house. Though the said allegations do not pertain to his employment with the BCCI, the Committee of Administrators of the BCCI has deemed it appropriate to seek an explanation from Mr Johri in relation to the allegations. He has been asked to submit his explanation within a week. The future course of action will be considered on receipt of his explanation”.
The woman later tweeted that she did not want any of the incidents that she detailed on her Twitter timeline to be published.
“ALL press. Do NOT quote/mention/link my tweets, name me, or take screenshots for publication. The survivor wants her privacy respected. So do I. If you mention us now it will be in violation of this very specific request,” she tweeted.
Johri is scheduled to be the BCCI’s representative at the ICC’s Chief Executive Committee meeting between October 17 and 18 in Singapore and the COA said it won’t stop him from attending.
“We have not taken away functional powers till he submits his explanation and the legal team analyses it,” COA chief Vinod Rai said.
The BCCI has also sought an explanation from Johri regarding the sexual assault allegations and has given him a week's time to "submit his explanation" to the Indian cricket board.
Johri, believed to be in his late 40s, became the first CEO of the cricket body after its administrative structure underwent a revamp owing to the Lodha Committee recommendations. A media veteran before joining the BCCI, Johri was associated with the Discovery channel’s South Asia operations for 15 years.
With agency inputs
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