Senior Doordarshan official suspended for sexual harassment

New Delhi, Oct 5 – Public broadcaster Prasar Bharati has suspended a senior Doordarshan official on charges of sexual harassment leveled by a colleague.

 

Prasar Bharati CEO Jawhar Sircar confirmed that suspension orders of additional director general Raj Shekhar Vyas had been issued after the broadcaster's internal inquiry committee found a prima facie case of sexual harassment.

 

Vyas — tasked with the running DD National — has been suspended for six months. A departmental inquiry committee headed by AIR director general (news) Archana Dutta will continue its inquiry and recommend further action.

 

A woman colleague had complained about Vyas in July but no action was taken till the issue became public. When asked about the delay, Sircar said, "There has been no delay. We had to be very careful because this is a quasi-judicial proceeding and process had to be followed."

 

A team of National Commission of Women (NCW), led by its member Charu Wali Khanna, had met Prasar Bharati top brass on Thursday and enquired about the matter.

 

Earlier, acting on the complaint against the senior officer by a junior colleague who had accused him of using abusive language and inappropriate behaviour, Doordarshan had set up an inquiry committee.

 

After the submission of the inquiry committee report, the official was served a chargesheet and asked to respond. The I&B ministry had taken a serious note of the matter.

 

In a letter to Prasar Bharati, the ministry had said the "inquiry committee is of the view there exists a prima facie case of sexual harassment" and sought that action should be taken as per the procedure laid down in the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013.

 

TNN, TOI