A woman was allegedly shown porn clips and groped by a senior executive from a Jindal Group company aboard a flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi. Jindal Steel Chairperson Naveen Jindal has assured the woman that the matter will be investigated at the earliest and strict action will be taken against the executive.
In a series of posts on X on Friday, the woman, who is the founder of an organisation that works on menstrual rights, said she was headed to Boston and had taken a transit flight to Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways when a man sitting next to her struck up a conversation with him. She identified the man as Dinesh Kr Saraogi and estimated his age to be around 65.
The woman said Mr Saraogi, a senior executive at a Jindal Group company, told her he lives in Oman but travels frequently. Having shared that he is from Churu in Rajasthan and has two sons who are married and live in the US, he moved on to asking her what her hobbies were.
“He asked if I enjoy watching movies & I was like of course. He then proceeds to tell me he has some movie clips on his phone. He whips out his phone and earphones to show me PORN!” the woman wrote.
“He started groping me. I was frozen in shock and scared. I eventually ran off to the washroom and complained to the air staff. Thankfully the Etihad team was very pro-active and took action immediately. They made me sit in their seating area and served me tea & fruits,” she added.
The woman claimed that after she left her seat, Mr Saraogi kept calling the staff members to ask where she had gone.
The airline, she said, had informed the police at Abu Dhabi, who were waiting near the runway when the aircraft landed, but she could not file a complaint because that would have meant missing her connecting flight to Boston.
“I was escorted to the next gate to ensure he does not come near me. He also did not deny this when the cops asked him questions. I am sharing this because I want to remind everyone that something like this can happen to anyone,” the woman wrote.
Tagging the X handle of Naveen Jindal, she said she was trying to make him aware of the incident. “I am also afraid of how this molestor must be treating his female employees from a place of power… I am fine, a little rattled and disturbed. I feel violated but I also want to make sure this never happens to another woman,” the woman wrote.
‘Showed Courage’
Responding to the woman’s messages on X, Mr Jindal said his group of companies has a zero-tolerance policy on such issues.
“Thank you for reaching out and speaking up! It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and I want you to know that we have a zero tolerance policy for such matters. I have asked the team to immediately investigate the matter and thereafter strictest and necessary action will be taken,” Mr Jindal, who is also a BJP MP, said.
The woman responded by thanking Mr Jindal and said she will be awaiting action.
