Amitabh Choudhary against CoA committee questioning Rahul Johri
BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Chaudhary, has questioned the process which was used to assemble a CoA-approved three-man committee to investigate the sexual harassment accusations against board CEO - Rahul Johri. The latter was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee earlier this month.
In the wake of the recent #Metoo movement, the sport of cricket has also come in for some shocking allegations. Earlier this month, BCCI CEO Rahul Johri was accused of sexual harassment by a former employee who, anonymously, went public with her allegations. The individual’s comments had an immediate after-effect as Johri was sent on temporary leave while the Committee of Administrators (CoA) assembled a three-man independent body to investigate the whole issue.
But BCCI acting secretary, Amitabh Choudhary, recently penned a letter to the CoA on Saturday where he questioned the manner in which a three-member committee was formed to investigate the sexual harassment allegations against Johri. Choudhary termed the entire issue as a 'Violation of Hon'ble Supreme Court orders'. COA member Diana Edulji and seven BCCI state units wanted Johri to be sacked but chief Vinod Rai said a probe is necessary before a call is taken on the issue at hand.
Meanwhile, former Mumbai captain Shishir Hattangadi has come forward and added that he is ready to testify against Johri. Hattangadi, who gave an interview to TOI, said that he has not met Johri and he only decided to testify as it is his "moral responsibility" to help a friend in need.
"Miss X reached out to me, saying I have experienced this with this gentleman, while he was in the position of BCCI CEO. What do I do, can you help me? I said yes, I will talk to the COA members. I talked to a COA member and requested them to speak to her and put it on paper and the matter ended there. And then...I also tweeted to the BCCI that I am happy to come and testify or speak to you on this issue.
"This information is definitely damning. I don't know Rahul Johri from Adam. I have never met him in my life nor do I intend to. So I have no axe to grind with anybody. However, when a friend approaches me, it is my moral responsibility to advise them accordingly. I also reached out to the administrators, saying I am available for you to question me on this issue, simple as that," he told TOI.
BCCI acting secretary Amitabh Choudhury writes to Committee of Administrators (COA), questioning about the manner in which investigation is being carried out by a three members committee in sexual harassment allegations made against BCCI CEO Rahul Johri pic.twitter.com/8njMLBoCHG
— ANI (@ANI) October 27, 2018