Days after journalist Vidya Krishnan accused Gaurav Sawant of sexually harassing her 15 years ago, Krishnan said she stands by every word in the story she shared with The Caravan.
In a statement on Twitter, the former health and science editor at The Hindu said she shared her story to “shine a light on the inequities faced by young female journalists in Indian newsrooms, at the hands of their powerful colleagues”.
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She added that she did not want the next generation of talented female reporters to dramatically alter their careers due to everyday sexism, sexual harassment and sexual violence in newsrooms.
In an article in The Caravan, Vidya Krishnan alleged that she was sexually harassed and assaulted by Gaurav Sawant, executive editor at India Today while travelling for a work assignment.
Read | Journalist Gaurav Sawant accused of sexual harassment, says will take legal action
Recounting how she was accused of acting out of malice after she spoke out, Krishnan asserted that whatever she had said was completely true.
“The account published in The Caravan is an accurate representation of what happened. It was independently verified by a reporter, after talking to those who corroborated the story I had shared. It is the reality and I stand by every word of it,” her statement read.
Krishnan further stated that she was not the least bit intimidated by the threat of defamation adding that she will fight defamation and make sure that her truth will be heard by all.
In her account, Krishnan had accused Sawant, the teacher figure that she had looked up to, of molesting her first in an Army jeep and then in her hotel room where he had shown up without her permission.
Sawant has, however, rubbished the article as “irresponsible, baseless, and completely false”. He has also threatened to take full legal action in the matter.
