Mumbai Police have summoned The Viral Fever Media Labs (TVF) founder and CEO Arunabh Kumar, who was booked on molestation charges on Wednesday evening, for his statement in the case.
The victim, a former TVF employee, had filed a first information report against Kumar at Andheri's MIDC Police Station, alleging sexual harassment and attempts to outrage her modesty.
“A case has been registered against him on Wednesday under Sections 354 (A) and 509 of the Indian Penal Code and we have summoned him for the statement,†said a senior police official. “After taking his statement, we will start a full-fledged investigation into the matter,†he added.
An email query and text messages to Kumar as well as a TVF spokesperson remained unanswered till the time of publishing the story.
Earlier in March, an anonymous blog post by a woman calling herself ‘Indian Fowler’ alleged multiple instances of molestation and sexual harassment by Kumar over two years, before she quit her job last year. Soon after, many women came forward on social media, levelling similar charges against Kumar.
The digital entertainment channel had rubbished Indian Fowler's accusations against Kumar. “The article is completely ludicrous and defamatory against TVF and its team. All the allegations made against TVF and its team in the article are categorically false, baseless and unverified…We will leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice for making such false allegations. It is our humble request that you do not share an unsubstantiated, unverified and anonymous article such as this,†it had said.
In February last year, private equity firm Tiger Global had invested around $10 million (Rs 68 crore) in Contagious Online Media Network Pvt. Ltd, the seven-year-old firm that runs TVF.
Just a day before the victim filed the FIR, the police had said it was contemplating closing the case since nobody had come forward to file an FIR.
According to law, if courts find Kumar guilty of the charges levelled against him, he may face up to three years in jail, a fine, or both.
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