Jindal Steel chairman Naveen Jindal has ordered an investigation into allegations that a senior executive in his group groped a woman on a flight from Kolkata to Abu Dhabi, according to a statement posted on social media by the accuser.
The woman, who shared her ordeal on X, stated, “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 Etihad and the Abu Dhabi police for the support they provided me.”
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According to her profile, she is a co-chair of the India Conference at Harvard.
In the post, she recounted the entire incident, describing how the man, identified as the ‘CEO of Jindal Steel,’ initially approached her for a casual chat, which then took a disturbing turn.
According to her account, “I was seated next to an industrialist (Dinesh Kr. Saraogi, CEO of Jindal Steel)”. She added that the man appeared to be roughly 65 years old and mentioned that he now lives in Oman but travels frequently. He engaged her in a normal conversation about their roots and family, revealing that he is from Churu in Rajasthan. The conversation then shifted to her hobbies, and when she mentioned enjoying movies, he said he had some movie clips on his phone. He then allegedly showed her pornographic content on his phone.
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She further claimed that the man allegedly groped her.
“I was frozen in shock and was scared. I eventually ran off to the washroom and complained to the air staff. Thankfully the Etihad team was very proactive and took action immediately. They made me sit at their seating area and served me tea and fruits,” she wrote.
She also mentioned that the man kept calling the staff to ask about her whereabouts. The staff informed the police in Abu Dhabi, who were waiting as soon as the aircraft’s gates opened. However, she could not file a formal complaint because she would have missed her connecting flight to Boston.
“I was escorted to the next gate to ensure he did not come near me. He also did not deny this when the cops asked him questions,” she alleged.
“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, MP Naveen Jindal, so that he is aware of the kind of people who are in leadership. I am also afraid of how this molester must be treating his female employees from a place of power,” she added.
In response to her post, Jindal wrote on Friday morning, thanking her for reaching out and speaking up. He acknowledged the courage it took to share her story and assured her that the company has 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,” he wrote.