Gogoi has accused MJ Akbar of sexually harassing her on several occasions prior to the incident. “He threatened to kick me out of the job if I resisted him again,” wrote Pallavi.
New Delhi: Two days after former MoS for External Affairs MJ Akbar appeared in court to record his statement in a defamation suit against journalist Priya Ramani, another woman has come forward accusing him of raping her. Pallavi Gogoi, currently working as a Chief Business Correspondent of National Public Radio (NPR) in her Washington Post article has accused MJ Akbar of raping her during her stint as an editor of The Asian Age in 1994.
In the gut-wrenching account, Gogoi has accused MJ Akbar of sexually harassing her on several occasions prior to the incident. She said that Akbar had tried to kiss her. In another incident, he “scratched” her face when she tried to resist. “He threatened to kick me out of the job if I resisted him again,” wrote Pallavi.
Narrating the incident, she further said, “In his hotel room, even though I fought him, he was physically more powerful. He ripped off my clothes and raped me. Instead of reporting him to the police, I was filled with shame. I didn’t tell anyone about this then. Would anyone have believed me? I blamed myself. Why did I go to the hotel room?”
Those before me have given me the courage to reach into the recesses of my mind and confront the monster that I escaped from decades ago. Together, our voices tell a different truth @TushitaPatel @SuparnaSharma @priyaramani @ghazalawahab
My story https://t.co/DG5dT7TEUU— Pallavi Gogoi (@pgogoi) November 1, 2018
Gogoi who was 23 years old at that time said that after the incident Akbar’s grip over her tightened. “For a few months, he continued to defile me sexually, verbally, emotionally. He would burst into loud rages in the newsroom if he saw me talking to male colleagues my own age,” she said quickly adding that the behaviour was frightening.
However, Akbar’s lawyer Sandeep Kapur has refuted the allegation. The editor’s note pinned at the top of The Washington Post article carries the denial issued by Akbar’s counsel.
Former Journalist MJ Akbar was accused of sexual harassment by various female journalists in the ongoing #MeToo campaign during his tenure as Editor of various newspapers. Journalist Priya Ramani had alleged that Akbar during his tenure as an Editor of a newspaper made her feel uncomfortable and harassed her in a hotel room.
After Ramani’s allegations various female journalists including Prerna Singh Bindra, Ghazala Wahab, Shutapa Paul, Anju Bharti, Suparna Sharma, Shuma Raha, Malini Bhupta, Kanika Gahlout, Kadambari M Wade, Majlie de Puy Kamp and Ruth David spoke against Akbar.
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