Nalco chief faces molestation charge

A woman employee of the Bhubaneshwar-based National Aluminium Corporation (Nalco) has alleged that the chairman and managing director of the organisation, C Venkatramana, molested her after calling her to his private suite at a five-star hotel in Mumbai.

The incident allegedly happened last week, on February 8, when Venkatramana was staying at the Leela Hotel in suburban Mumbai during an official visit to the city.

Venkatramana met with Nalco's regional manager, Virender Singh, at the hotel and the woman employee who was Singh's private secretary had gone along.

In her complaint to the police, the woman has alleged that Venkatramana misbehaved with her in hotel. He asked her to accompany him to his suite and then asked Singh to wait outside the room.

She has said that Venkatramana allegedly made sexual advances towards her inside the room.

Inspector Sharad Marathe, a senior police official at the Sahar police station, said that Singh was aware of the molestation and apologised to the woman later. However, he "expressed his inability to protest against the boss."

The police have filed a case against Venkatramana and Singh under the Indian Penal Code section 354 which deals with assault or criminal force on to women with the intent to outrage her modesty.

"We have arrested her boss and are going to produce him in the court for police custody. Venkatramana has not been arrested yet because at present he is in  Bhubaneshwar, Orissa (where Nalco's corporate office is located). As soon as he will back in Mumbai, we will arrest him," Marathe told rediff.com.

Singh will be produced before a metropolitan court on Friday.

This is the second incident of misbehaviour by a senior corporate official in recent times.

In 2002, Phaneesh Murthy, a director on the board of Infosys Technologies was forced to resign after a lawsuit was filed against him alleging sexual harassment of a female employee.

Infosys finally settled the sexual harassment lawsuit filed by Reka Maximovitch, the ex-employee, against Phaneesh Murthy and the company, for $ 3 million.