3 more women share their horrific Akbar experiences

New Delhi: Several new allegations against union minister Mr. MJ Akbar also surfaced. A journalist Ms. Tushita Patel who earlier worked with Mr. Akbar charged him with kissing her.

She said, “You said chirpily, “Where did you disappear? I’ve been looking for you – we have to discuss your page.” And with that you ushered me into the empty conference room, grabbed me again and kissed me.”

She further added, “I am reading with indignation, but not surprise, about your complete lack of contrition, your lies, your facetious arguments, your lack of sensitivity in your attempt to victim shame and some remarkably stupid statements. If I don’t speak up now, I feel I’ll be complicit in your crimes.” On the criminal defamation notice she said, “ And enough with the legal intimidation – we can see you in court too. The same sisterhood of solidarity that held our hands through the darkest times of our lives will come out only because you continue to be brazen. We are not confused, conflicted or vulnerable any more. Our time to speak is now – when we don’t have to run to a police station to lodge a complaint before anyone would give us a hearing.”  

One more journalist Ms. Swati Gautam also called out Mr. Akbar taking a dig at the union minister said, “It’s perfectly alright to wear a bathrobe with nothing underneath while meeting young women in hotel rooms. Why shouldn’t anyone do that? Is there a law banning that? And if anything’s wrong with that then it’s with the women who chose to stay back in the company of the bathrobe, only for job interviews they badly needed.”

She further added, “ I got up and walked out of that dratted room and as far away as I could from The Bathrobe, thankful that he didn’t ‘do’ anything.”

Earlier another journalist Kadambari M. Wade  revealed how Mr. Akbar, in the very first meeting, stared down at her chest. He repeated such lewd gestures a number of times, and despite Kadambari telling others about it, she got no help.