It has been over 24 hours since Twitter has been abuzz with women speaking out against sexual harassment they have faced on hands of standup comics, social media celebrities and journalists, and such stories are still surfacing. Writer and journalist Sandhya Menon took to Twitter to recount her horror stories, naming the men who had allegedly made unwanted, sexual advances against her and when she complained to the higher-ups, she was ‘punished’.
She first talks about Manoj Ramachandran, Senior Associate Editor, Hindustan Times, who back in 2005 allegedly sent her an offensive message to her and then apologised for having sent it when he was ‘drunk’.
Networks were screwed and I couldn’t reach friends to find out how he had gotten my number. We both worked at the same newspaper.
When things got back to normal, and i confronted him he said he was drunk and he meant to send it to his wife. Okay.
Of course, no screenshots
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
She retells how Ramachandran reportedly got her number from a mutual friend and texted her ‘I want to f*ck you’ and later claimed that he meant to send the message to his wife, and not Sandhya.
She then talks about another incident involving K R Sreenivas, Resident Editor, Times of India, who back in 2008 during the launch of Bangalore Mirror, tried to make an unwanted advance towards her.
After a trial print run, late at night he offered to drop a few of us. I was living the farthest so I was dropped last. I get to my house, we’re chatting. He lays his hand on my thigh and goes, “my wife and I have grown apart. She doesn’t understand me.”
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
She claims that after the trial print run of the paper was over, Sreenivas offered to drop her home and while doing so, tried to feel her up saying ‘he and his wife had grown apart’. When she escalated the issue, the woman heading the sexual harassment committee and BCCL allegedly dismissed it by saying how it is unlikely Sreeni would so something like that.
I went to the committee for sexual harassment at BCCL to figure out what i need to do and the woman who headed it (I forget her name) told me she knew Sreeni for a long time and it’s unlikely he’d do something like that.
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
Third man she names is Gautam Adhikari, founding editor of DNA and currently Executive Editor of Times of India.
Fair ask I guess. He had just moved to India from the US. Possibly over 50.
Day before ganpati holiday. Friend (his EA) says hey I’m inviting Gautam to go with us. I said yeah sure.
I’m 25 and entirely clueless. He joined us a little late in Bandra.
He was polished
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
Adhikari had just moved back from the US to Mumbai and asks Menon and her colleague to show him around the new city, and after a dinner involving the three of them, he offered to drop them home. Since Sandhya lived farther away, she was to be dropped last. However, as she was about to get out of the car, after the polite hug and peck on the cheek, Adhikari kissed her.
So I gave him a hug to say goodnight. He took my face in that moment, held right and kissed my mouth; tongue and all.
It was all I could do to not jump out of the window and fly home.
I scrambled for the door, muttered a goodnight and ran.
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
He later called her and told her not to let anyone know about that incident.
I didn’t respond. He called and spoke to me in a very genteel, soft manner and told me no one can know. I didn’t have what it took to say fuck off and so I said yeah sure. Won’t tell anyone.
In a week or so I’d told my entire department but not sure I got believed.
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
She then narrates how after that incident, he even asked her to join him for a vacation in Lonavla.
A few weeks later, he texted me again on a weekend and asked if I wanted to drive out to lonavla. That we could spend the weekend there and come back
That’s when I screwed up enough discomfort to say no.
I was asked to not talk about the too to anyone.
— Sandhya Menon (@TheRestlessQuil) October 5, 2018
Currently, Manoj Ramchandran is Senior Associate Editor in Hindustan Times, Sreenivas is Resident Editor of Times of India, Hyderabad and Gautam Adhikari was founding Editor of DNA and currently Executive Editor at Times of India.
