'He has been asked to submit his explanation within a week. Future course of action will be considered on receipt of his explanation.'
The Committee of Administrator on Saturday sought an explanation from Board of Control for Cricket in India's CEO Rahul Johri after an anonymous account of alleged sexual harassment by him was shared on social media as part of the ongoing #metoo movement.
Author Harnidh Kaur posted the allegations by an unnamed victim, who claimed to be an ex-colleague of Johri at the Discovery Channel.
Johri worked in various positions with the channel from 2001 to 2016 before taking over as the BCCI CEO.
"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," read the tweet by Kaur which was accompanied by screenshots, detailing the alleged incident.
Reacting to the post, the Supreme Court-appointed CoA sought an explanation from Johri without specifying any timeline for its course of action.
"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," said the COA statement.
"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. Future course of action will be considered on receipt of his explanation," it added.
The #metoo movement in India began with Bolywood actor Tanushree Dutta accusing veteran actor Nana Patekar of sexual harassment.
Subsequently several public figures were accused of sexual harrasment by women. The list includes journalist-turned politician M J Akbar and filmmaker Sajid Khan among others.
