Shamir Reuben
Several women who have accused slam poet Shamir Reuben of sexual misconduct have urged others who have had similar experiences to come forward. On February 7, a 19-year-old student’s Facebook post about Reuben’s alleged sexually inappropriate behaviour had gone viral and several women have come forward since.
In a Facebook post dated February 10, some of the victims had urged others to come forward and speak up before the police, although no FIR against Reuben was lodged at the time of going to the press.
The post, however, states that Mumbai police are going to take suo motu action and that they would need women to record their statements with the police. Since the Facebook post by the student on February 7, Kommune, a Mumbai arts collective where Reuben is the head of content, has suspended him.
The college student had said that Reuben had indulged in sexting three years ago when she was a minor. While she did not have screenshots of the chats, the girl said she came forward after she realised the abuse she faced was not a one-off instance as other women too spoke of such behaviour by Reuben.