#MeToo: Star India responds to the allegations of sexual exploitation against Uday Shankar

Following an allegation of sexual exploitation of women employees made on Twitter against Star India Chairman and CEO Uday Shankar, the company reached out to the anonymous accuser in a Twitter reply.

Star India on Saturday requested the accuser to respond and reach out to the Star Internal Committee (Star IC) or directly to the external member of the Star IC.

Addressing the anonymous accuser with the twitter handle @ApurvaS17, the company said that Star IC, formed under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2013, had reached out to the accuser through two emails on the ID provided by her through her tweets.

You are requested to respond and reach out to the Star IC or directly to the external member of the Star IC pic.twitter.com/D3rgWIQajq

— Star TV Network (@starindia) October 19, 2018

The accuser, through multiple tweets that also tagged journalists who supported the #MeToo movement, had made sexual harassment allegations against Shankar in an open letter.

#MeToo #MetooIndia Ordeal of #SexualExploitation @starindia co. of @21CF Where .#UdayShankar CEO his associates have abused their position, for sexual purposes to entertain #CloseFriends #BusinessAssociates #GovtOfficials profiting monetarily, socially & politically. @MeTooMVMT pic.twitter.com/0IxaX2FET6

— ApurvaS (@ApurvaS17) October 15, 2018

Responding to a query from news agency IANS, a Star India spokesperson told in a statement that despite no response by the anonymous accuser to the messages sent, the Star IC had “suo moto conducted a preliminary inquiry and found no basis or factual accuracy" in respect of the allegations.

"We strongly urge any genuine complainant to approach the Star IC. At Star, we stand with women in drawing the line on any behaviour that violates human dignity or the ability for women to pursue their dreams with respect and freedom. We have a zero-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment," read the statement.

It also said that the anonymous tweet shared on October 13 raised an allegation that "runs completely counter to everything we believe in and the norms and values that we deeply embrace."

The statement further said: "Star believes that the allegations made in the tweet without the complainant coming forward and giving any further detail, is a malicious attempt to malign and defame the reputation of the company and the CEO."

It said that Star reserves its right to initiate appropriate legal proceedings in this regard.

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