#MeToo: India Today Exec Editor Gaurav Sawant accused of sexual assault

The allegations have been made by award-winning journalist Vidya Krishnan, who says that the incident happened in 2003 when she was working at The Pioneer.

#MeToo : India Today’s executive editor and top TV anchor Gaurav Sawant has been accused of sexual assault. The allegations have been made by Vidya Krishnan, who was the health editor at The Hindu newspaper in New Delhi till last month.

The case has been investigated and reported by the Caravan magazine’s Nikita Saxena.

Krishnan says that the incident took place in 2003 when she was working at The Pioneer newspaper, which was run by Chandan Mitra, a former member of parliament.

The allegations include that he touched the fellow woman journalist’s breasts, asked her to bathe with him, displayed his genitals to her and physically forced her to touch his genitals.

The Wire has reached out to Gaurav Sawant, India Today, Chandan Mitra and Vidya Krishnan for responses. This report will updated as and when they do respond.

In a late night tweet, Sawant said, “The article published by Caravan is irresponsible, baseless, and completely false. I am talking to my lawyers and will take full legal action. So grateful to my family, friends, and viewers for their support.”

NDTV reported the response they received from the India Today group: “The article is distressing to read. Unfortunately, we are in no position to comment on it or investigate the matter since Gaurav Sawant was not employed with us in 2003. Nevertheless, Mr. Sawant has been asked to provide an explanation. Besides dismissing the allegations entirely, he has informed us that he is consulting lawyers to seek legal remedy.”

Apart from being The Hindu’s health editor, Krishnan is an award-winning journalist and a former fellow at the International Reporting Project. Sawant has been a prominent defence correspondent. He reported on the Kargil War in 1999.

In the report, Krishnan says that she was hired at The Pioneer, her first job, in 2003 when she was 21. Her very first out-of-town assignment was to cover a peacetime drill at a military station in Beas, Punjab. It was organised by the Indian Army.

Sawant, already a well-known defence correspondent, was also on that trip.

He was due to get married and that was something that was the talk of the trip among reporters.

Krishnan recalls that at the time of Sawant’s first sexual assault on her, she was sitting in a military jeep. Sawant sat behind her. At one point, he placed his right hand on her breast from behind her. “I didn’t feel secure enough to tell anybody and say, ‘This is happening, make it stop.’ I didn’t have the confidence to say anything,” she told The Caravan.

After the first incident, she says the abuse escalated. That night, Sawant sent her a text message asking her to come to his room. He told her that he wanted to get into a bathtub with her. She declined. Within minutes, he reached her room and knocked at her door. When she opened it, he let himself in. He then exposed his genitals to her and began to force her to touch it.

Business Standard

Will continue to back #MeToo: Nandita Das on allegations against father

I have maintained from the very start that this is the time we all need to listen, so that women (and men) feel safe to speak up, said Nandita Das.

Actress-filmmaker Nandita Das, whose father -- artist Jatin Das -- has been accused of sexually harassing a woman, says while she will continue to add voice to the #MeToo movement, she believes the truth will prevail in the "disturbing allegations" against the Padma Bhushan recipient.

"As a strong supporter of the #MeToo movement, I want to reiterate that I will continue to add my voice to it, despite the disturbing allegations made against my father, which he has categorically denied," Nandita posted on Facebook.

"I have maintained from the very start that this is the time we all need to listen, so that women (and men) feel safe to speak up. At the same time, it is also important to be sure about allegations so as not to dilute the movement.

I am touched by the number of people - friends and strangers - who are concerned and are trusting my integrity. I do believe truth will prevail. And that is all I have to say on this matter," she added.

Conservationist Nisha Bora on Tuesday accused Jatin Das of sexually harassing her at his Khidki village studio in 2004. Das refuted the allegation as "ridiculous and vulgar".

The #MeToo movement in India has been on a rise with victims of sexual harassment from all walks of life voicing their stories. Nandita has been vocal about urging women to speak up against any such unsavoury experiences that they have faced at their work place.

Business Standard

Tara' writer Vinta Nanda accuses Alok Nath of rape, CINTAA to issue notice

CINTAA general secretary Sushant Singh extended his support to Nanda.

The Cine and TV Artists Association Tuesday said it would send Alok Nath a show-cause notice after writer-producer Vinta Nanda accused the "most Sanskaari person", as the actor is known, of raping her more than once 19 years ago.

Nanda, best known for the TV show "Tara", gave a detailed account of the alleged assaults in a lengthy Facebook post Monday night, the latest expose in the #MeToo movement sweeping India.

She did not name Nath but referred to her attacker as "the most Sanskaari (cultured) person", a sobriquet attached with the actor courtesy his on-screen image of playing the goody-goody father, uncle and grandfather.

Nanda alleged that Nath sexually assaulted her on more than one occasion after he was fired from the 1993 show for misbehaving with its lead actor, Navneet Nishan.

Actor Richa Chadha was one of many people on Twitter who were quick to put two and two together and name Nath as the person mentioned in Nanda's post.

"#AlokNath," wrote Chadha in response to the account. ( Business Standard )

CINTAA general secretary Sushant Singh extended his support to Nanda.

"Dear @vintananda I am so so sorry. As @CintaaOfficial a show-cause notice will be sent to @aloknath first thing in the morning, why he shouldn't be expelled. Unf,ortunately we've to follow the due process. I urge you to file a complaint against this vile creature, we extend you full support," he wrote.

Recounting her ordeal, Nanda said Nath's wife was her best friend. The actor, who played Deepak Seth in the soap opera, was after the leading lady, Nishan, who was not interested in him.

"He was an alcoholic, shameless and obnoxious but he was also the television star of that decade, so not only was he forgiven for all his bad behaviour but many of the guys would egg him on to be his worst. My lead female actor was being harassed by him. He would mess with her on the sets and everyone would be silent. When she complained to us, we decided to let him go," she wrote in the post.

ALSO READ: Who's afraid of #metoo

The writer said they needed one last shot between Nath and Nishan and planned to break the news to him that he was being fired.

But he got to know about the plan and came drunk on the sets that day.

"He continued to drink till the time he was called for the shot. When the moment came and the camera rolled, he felt up our female lead and very viciously. My lead actress slapped him. We asked him to leave the sets and told him that he was not going to be on the show any longer."

The show went on with the ratings soaring but the management at the channel changed and it asked for a change in the lead actor.

Despite adhering to the change ordered by the channel, Nanda said, four of her other shows running on the same channel along with "Tara" were sent off air by the newly appointed CEO in the aftermath of Nath's departure.

Why sex offenders register may not be enough to curb crime against women

In India, victims of sexual assault are often blamed for the crimes committed against them.

Business Standard : After a series of high-profile rape cases, India launched a national register of sex offenders for the first time in September. Those convicted of sex crimes – including rape and sexual harassment – will now be added to a database, access to which will be given to law enforcement agencies, but not the public.

The aim of the new register is to reduce the number of crimes committed against women in India. But discouraging offences through a register is just part of the answer to improving women’s safety. Cultural attitudes toward sexual assault also need to change, as these can affect whether crimes are reported.

Evidence from other countries with similar sex offender registers is mixed, finding that they don’t seem to have an effect on re-offending rates – though they may stop sex crimes from being committed by people not already on the register. Researchers suggest that one of the reasons for this is the potential cost to offenders of being added to the register, such as difficulty finding jobs and housing.

Offenders will be added to the register only when assaults are reported and a subsequent conviction is made. Globally, the rates of reporting sexual assault to the police vary considerably, from roughly one in five in the UK, to as few as one in 50 in India. In early October, two men were arrested in India for allegedly raping a woman bathing in the Ganges, but their arrests came as a result of a video on social media – the woman did not report the alleged assault.

My colleague Tara Marshall and I conducted a recent study comparing attitudes to sexual assault in Britain and India in an attempt to understand the underlying issues affecting these reporting rates.

Cultural attitudes

In India, victims of sexual assault are often blamed for the crimes committed against them. One of the most high-profile rape cases in India happened in December 2012 when Jyoti Singh, who came to be known as “India’s Daughter”, was gang raped and murdered in Delhi. While there were movements across the country in support of Singh, much of the national conversation about the case blamed her for having been out late at night, and even for fighting back against her attackers.

Such views are a form of “rape myth acceptance” – a set of beliefs which tend to blame victims of sexual assault for having been assaulted.

They include suggesting that if women wear revealing clothes or drink alcohol then they deserve what happens to them. Research suggests that one reason offences are often not reported is because of these victim-blaming beliefs. This is true across the world – but especially in India.... Read More