NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Boston, MA, July 21, 2024: Harvard student Ananya Chhaochharia, recently took to X (formerly Twitter) to allege that she was sexually assaulted by the CEO of Vulcan Green, a Jindal Steel group company, during her flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi, en route to Boston. Her detailed posts sparked widespread outrage and prompted a swift response from Naveen Jindal, group chairman of the conglomerate.
In a series of posts, Ananya described the traumatic experience: “Sharing an incident that happened with me in the flight from Calcutta to Abu Dhabi (transit to Boston). I am very grateful to the staff of @__Etiihad and the Abu Dhabi police for the support they provided me.”
She elaborated on the incident: “I was seated next to an industrialist (Dinesh Kr. Saraogi, CEO of Jindal Steel). He must be roughly 65 in age & told me he now lives in Oman but travels frequently. He started chatting me up – very normal conversation about our roots, family etc. He is from Churu in Rajasthan… & both sons are married & settled in the US etc.”
The conversation took a disturbing turn when Saraogi asked Ananya about her hobbies. “He asked if I enjoy watching movies & I was like of course. He then proceeds to tell me he has some movie clips on his phone. He whips out his phone and earphones to show me PORN! He started groping me. I was frozen in shock and scare.”
Ananya quickly took action by escaping to the washroom and informing the Etihad Airways staff. “I eventually ran off to the washroom and complained to the air staff. Thankfully the Etihad team was very pro-active and took action immediately. They made me sit at their seating area and served me tea & fruits. He kept calling them to ask where I had gone. The staff also informed the cops at Abu Dhabi who were waiting as soon the gates of the aircraft opened.”
Due to time constraints for her connecting flight, Ananya could not file a complaint immediately but was safely escorted to her next gate. “I could not proceed with a complaint because I would have missed my connecting flight to Boston. I was escorted to the next gate to ensure he does not come near me. He also did not deny this when the cops asked him questions.”
Ananya concluded her posts with a call for awareness: “I am sharing this because I want to remind everyone that something like this can happen to anyone. I am working to get this incident out to the founder of Jindal Steel @MPNaveenJindal so that he is aware of the kind of people who are in leadership. I am also afraid of how this molestor must be treating his female employees from a place of power. P.S I am fine, a little rattled and disturbed. I feel violated but I also want to make sure this never happens to another woman.”
Naveen Jindal, Chairman of Jindal Steel, responded to Ananya’s posts with a message of support and assurance: “Dear Ananya, thank you for reaching out and speaking up! It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and I want you to know that we have a zero-tolerance policy for such matters. I have asked the team to immediately investigate the matter and thereafter strictest and necessary action will be taken.”
Dear Ananya, thank you for reaching out and speaking up! It takes a lot of courage to do what you did and I want you to know that we have a zero tolerance policy for such matters. I have asked the team to immediately investigate the matter and thereafter strictest and necessary…
— Naveen Jindal (@MPNaveenJindal) July 19, 2024
In response to the incident, an FIR has been registered against Dinesh Saraogi (he is the CEO of the Oman-based Vulcan Green Steel) at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport (NSCBI) police station under the Bidhannagar Police Commissionerate. Deputy Commissioner of the Airport Division, Aishwariya Sagar, confirmed the FIR was filed under several sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, following a written complaint from Ananya’s father.
“Initially, we received an email complaint from the victim, who is now in Boston. However, we needed a signed complaint to file an FIR. Her father, residing in Kolkata, submitted the complaint on Saturday, and the FIR was registered,” Sagar stated.
Saraogi has been booked under Sections 74 (Assault or use of criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (various forms of sexual harassment), and 79 (Word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The next steps involve contacting Saraogi in Oman, requesting his presence in Kolkata for investigation, and recording Ananya’s statement via video conferencing.
