RK Pachauri harassment case: Complainant resigns from TERI

The 29-year-old complainant in the sexual harassment case against eminent scientist RK Pachauri has resigned from Delhi based think tank Teri, claiming she has been "mistreated" in the "worst possible manner".

The complainant said the organisation is torturing her mentally and has harmed her "mentally, professionally and economically". "The law says that you must assist the victim".

When it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace, many picture the blatant sexism of the "Mad Men" era, however, workplace harassment (sadly) comes in all forms.

"Subsequently, what happened was that she was expecting the governing council to support her case and ask Mr. Pachauri to stay away from TERI or at least suspend him till the time the investigation was not concluded by the police".

Mendiratta also said the complainant has mentioned in her resignation letter that she would take all the cases, civil as well as criminal, to its logical end. The research analyst, in her resignation submitted early this week, has hit out at Teri for creating what she terms as a "hostile environment" which "only escalated and showed no signs of subsiding whatsoever".

She also accused TERI of changing her work profile against her wish and for giving her no explanation for doing so. "I only got vague responses", she wrote. In addition to that, Ajay Mathur, who was appointed as the director general in July by the governing council, is yet to take up his role.

"I am tendering my resignation from TERI with immediate effect", the complainant wrote. On February 13, an FIR was registered against Pachauri on charges of sexual harassment under IPC sections including 354 (assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 354(d) (molestation) and 506 (criminal intimidation).

Indian activists said the woman's resignation highlighted the challenges faced by Indian women when they speak out over sexual harassment in the workplace, especially when the alleged perpetrators are powerful and influential people. Inspired by our friends over at Jezebel, we rounded up 11 testimonies found on the anonymous message-sharing app Whisper that speak to the bravery required to report their harassers, but also the relief they feel once they do.