#MeToo: Uttarakhand BJP leader tried to kiss and sent vulgar photos, says complainant

It’s been more than 10 days when Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) sacked its Uttarakhand general secretary Sanjay Kumar, following a complaint of sexual harassment against him.

However, the complainant has finally come forward to explain the ‘sin’ performed by Sanjay Kumar. The complainant told The Indian Express that Sanjay Kumar had tried to kiss her forcefully twice, grabbed her several times and used to send her “vulgar” photographs.

The complainant identified herself as a BJP worker hailing from Delhi who has been staying in Dehradun since 2006. She claimed that Kumar sexually assaulted her repeatedly this year at the party’s office in Dehradun where she used to go for data entry work.

She further alleged that Kumar got party workers to snatch her phone in which she had saved some of her conversations with him. And, the complainant added that she had complained several times to other party leaders about Kumar’s behaviour but was ignored.

Detailing her allegations against Kumar, the complainant said, “In February, I was assigned the duty of entering data of bank cheques received under the party’s fund-raising scheme, Aajivan Sahyog Nidhi. “I used to visit the party office every day for the data entry work,” she said.

It was during this time that she came in contact with Kumar, she added. “He would make indecent comments. At least twice, he tried to kiss me forcefully. He would regularly send me vulgar photographs downloaded from the Internet. He also sent me photographs of his private parts on WhatsApp but would delete them within seconds of sending them to me,” she alleged.

According to the complainant, several complaints conveyed verbally to fellow BJP workers and leaders went unacknowledged. “Eventually, I stopped going to the party office in March. Everyone I approached asked me for proof against him, which I didn’t have. I was even told by a BJP leader in Dehradun that I was making a big deal of the experience and that being sexually involved with male politicians was common for women entering politics,” she noted.

Later, the complainant said, one of her friends suggested that she record her phone conversations with Kumar, which she began doing in March itself.

“When I had enough evidence against him, I warned him that I would approach party leaders. But on October 4, he got my phone snatched through other party workers. I submitted a written application at the Dhara police station about my phone having been forcefully taken from me, but no action was taken on my complaint,” she claimed.

“On November 4, Hindi daily Amar Ujala first published a report on the allegations against Kumar. I had to leave Dehradun for a while after the report was published since I was scared that something bad would be done to me. He (Kumar) is a powerful man,” she said.

“I spoke to (BJP state president) Ajay Bhatt over his (Kumar’s) indecent behaviour, but he (Bhatt) paid no heed my complaints,” she said. The complainant said, “I might file an FIR soon, but I am scared to enter Dehradun town since I have no security and the police have not acted on my request for security.”

It is to be noted that Kumar was a Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS) member before joining politics. This is, however, not the first time a politician has resigned after sexual harassment allegations came up against them. Earlier in September, NSUI chief Fairoz Khan had resigned from his post following sexual harassment allegations.

Also Read: BJP’s Uttarakhand general secretary resigns after sexual harassment allegations