#MeToo in India: KR Sreenivas resigns as The Times of India resident editor following sexual harassment allegations

KR Sreenivas, resident editor with The Times of India, has submitted his resignation following allegations of sexual harassment against him as part of the #MeToo campaign. A source from The Times of India confirmed to Firstpost that Sreenivas has resigned. The News Minute reported that Sreenivas, in his resignation letter, said he decided to take the step as he was being “targetted.” [caption id=“attachment_5374081” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of journalist KR Sreenivas. Image courtesy: Twitter/@KRSreenivas[/caption] Last week, journalist Sandhya Menon in a Twitter thread accused Sreenivas of sexually harassing her in 2008. She said that after a trial print run of the Bangalore Mirror, “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.’" Menon said that when she approached the human resources department at that time, a woman who headed it had said that she had known him for a long time and it was unlikely that he would act in that way. Following the Twitter thread put out by Menon, at least seven women allegedly harassed by Sreenivas wrote a petition to the newspaper seeking action against him. In a statement on Twitter on 5 October, Sreenivas said, “The Times of India has said the charge would be investigated by its committee against sexual harassment. A highly empowered committee headed by a senior woman under this policy and under the law is in place to investigate and address all allegations. I submit myself to the investigation.” Network 18, of which Firstpost is a part, has received complaints of sexual harassment as well. The complaints which are within the purview of the workplace have been forwarded to our PoSH committee for appropriate action.