Sexual Harassment Case in Karnataka Secretariat, Chief Secretary to Write to Speaker

Bengaluru: The Chief Secretary of Karnataka is set to send a letter to the State Assembly to take action on a sexual harassment complaint against a secretariat staffer.

This comes four days after the complaint was made. Action was taken after 49 women staffers of the Karnataka Secretariat approached IAS officer Pallavi Akurathi.

Akurathi, Secretary, Department of Personnel and Administrative Reforms (Vigilance wing), then wrote to the Chief Secretary on Tuesday seeking justice for the woman.

The accused, a senior officer in the legislative assembly, allegedly asked the woman to accompany him to Belagavi where the legislative session was to take place and then to Goa. According to the complaint, the senior official also commented on her appearance and hurled profanities.

“I have faced mental harassment from this senior. I come to work with fear,” she said in the complaint.

"The committee at Vidhana Soudha that looks into cases of harassment of women has officers appointed by him (the accused). Therefore, I had no hopes that I would get justice,” the letter quotes her as saying.

A similar complaint had reportedly surfaced in June against the same officer. However, the Speaker said that he had not received any such complaints.

“Only if I receive any complaint can I take any action,” he told CNN-News18. When asked if there was any committee to look into cases of sexual harassment at workplace he said, “There is no committee as such. It is only the Speaker who is empowered for everything.”