'They suspended me for sexual misconduct, but never showed complaint'

A senior employee working in the Prabhadevi office of Motilal Oswal Financial Services has filed a complaint against the company saying she was suspended for 14 days for allegedly making a male colleague ldquosexually uncomfortablerdquo The police have recorded her statement though an FIR is yet to be registered said sources The company said the suspension was the fallout of ldquocomplaintsrdquoThe 37yearold employee Sweta NM is an associate vice president digital marketing She first approached the Mumbai Police Commissioner Sanjay Pandey on social media after which an officer from the police control room advised her to visit Dadar police station to record her statement on Wednesday Sweta who joined the company in March offered to be identified by this newspaperSources in the police department said a few senior executives of the company were called in by the Dadar police and cops also visited their Prabhadevi office to complete their primary investigation ldquoThe Chief HR Officer amp Board Member Sudhir Dhar unlawfully placed me on a forced suspension on May 6 for 14 days I was informed that I have made a fellow Assistant Operations Manager feel sexually uncomfortable by sending him sexually explicit content on WhatsApp And that he has raised a complaint against me But his complaint was never shown to merdquo she saidldquoThe meeting lasted for around oneandahalf hours but Dhar did not show me any such complaint made by the colleague I was asked to resign else I was told I would be terminated But he did tell me to write a detailed mail explaining my version to prove my innocence I did write a mail to Dhar on the same dayrdquo she said ldquoThe colleague has been more than happy welcoming accepting applauding encouraging supportive of me discussing my crush with him for a month now I have never ever discussed anything sexual with him Yes I did talk about a kiss but that was directed for my crush it was not directed at him at allrdquo said the women employeeldquoAnd this was only because I did receive acceptance from the colleague for these conversations Else I would not have done it We have had these discussions in the past as well with his full consent each timerdquo she said ldquoI am told that once the investigation is done I will be resuming my job I will be paid at the end of the month for the entire month if I am found not guilty And that colleague will have to face the consequences if his allegations are proven to be falserdquo she saidldquoI have mentioned everything in the mail to Dhar and other senior executives But immediately after the mail Dhar replied to me saying that lsquoas discussed during our meeting based on the complaint received you are suspended from the work from today for 14 days wef from May 6 2022rsquo But the letter did not mention the reason of my suspensionrdquo she alleged ldquoI was asked to cooperate in the investigation but how My version was never recorded There was never an investigation done The company refuses to communicate with me The suspension hasnrsquot been lifted No reasons have been specified even nowrdquo she addedSweta alleged that the colleague was always more than happy to discuss his sex life and his wife and his bedroom with her ldquohellip rather he talked about the lack of sex during Navratri in the month of April 2022 But the same guy was made to write an email against me by senior manager Ankit Jobanputra claiming sexual discomfort experienced from merdquo she allegedldquoThe company refuses to understand that they are driving me towards a total nervous breakdown yet they continue to take cheap shots below the beltrdquo she added The employee said she has faced harassment and trauma every single day right from the very start ldquoI have written countless emails about my experiences but nothing happened so farrdquo Sweta called her stint so far ldquoseven weeks of an emotional gang rape on a daily basis by the managementrdquoShe added ldquoMy family survives on my salary If anything happens to me or my family I hold the company responsible Imagine the social sexual shame and bullying my family has been put throughrdquolsquoCheck CCTV footagersquoThe employee said the company has told the cops that she places her hand on other peoplersquos laps ldquoI sit among hundreds of employees on a floor where countless CCTV cameras are on surveillance and I do not sit in a private cabin Suppose even if I did why no such email was sent to me nor did they file any police complaint against me How is it that I am the only one willing to record everything on paperrdquoCompany versionldquoWe wish to inform you that the said employee is on suspension based on the complaints received She has been communicated this on email The suspension notice does not mention about any sexual misconduct levelled against the employee An independent investigation committee formation has been initiated The matter is subjudice and the further decision will be taken on the basis of the committeersquos decisionrdquo said the companyrsquos spokesperson in an emailDhar said ldquoWe have got written complaints from the senior employee saying about the misbehavior ie toxic behavior I have given the copy of the complaint to the police station and the committee who will investigate They will determine whether it is toxic in nature or notrdquoInquiry on CopsSenior PI of Dadar police station Mahesh Mugutrao said ldquoHer statement has been recorded but no cognizable offence is revealed at presentrdquo ldquoHer male colleague told us that she had sent her a few messages after which he felt a little uncomfortable and thatrsquos why he complained about it to the HR of the company but no letter in writing was submitted to usrdquo Mugutrao saidThe matter has been transferred to the Shivaji Park police station The zonal DCP Pranay Ashok said ldquoAt present we canrsquot say anything because we are enquiring into the allegations made by both the parties One lady officer has been deployed to investigaterdquoldquoWhatever allegations she has made it has to be seen in the context of what the entire situation is and whether there is any proof regarding the same We are recording the statements of everyone concerned We will take legal opinionrdquo DCP Ashok added