NEW DELHI (TIP): A European woman has levelled sexual harassment charges against tainted environmentalist R K Pachauri, who faced similar accusations from two former employees of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).

The woman made the complaint in a letter to advocate Vrinda Grover, who represents the complainants in the sexual harassment case against Pachauri. The foreigner said she worked at TERI as Pachauri’s secretary in 2008.

Pachauri refused to comment. However, his lawyer Ashish Dixit termed the allegation a
“conspiracy” to defame his client and questioned why every time such a case came up it was Grover who gave statements and there were no police complaints. “It is a conspiracy by Grover to defame Pachauri. Every time a woman is said to make allegations it is only through the press, not to police or court. Why is that every woman comes and reports to Vrinda Grover. There is some conspiracy. To prejudice the judges these types of reports are aired,” Dixit said.

In an unsigned statement, released by Grover, the girl wrote, “From the beginning Pachauri would put his hands on my waist repeated times, he would hug me longer than felt comfortable, kissed me on the cheek and enquired about my private life. I started feeling insecure about his motives for hiring me, and felt extremely uncomfortable being around him.”

The woman said the “tipping point” came when Pachauri asked her to join him at his summer residence outside Delhi in the absence of his wife.

At that point of time, she claimed to have spoken out and asked him to behave professionally. Within days, she was transferred to another department of TERI and after four months Pachauri abruptly terminated her contract, though she was initially taken on a one-year contract.