Retd MSRTC exec booked for sexually harassing consultant

MUMBAI: The Nagpada police have booked a retired Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) officer for allegedly sexually harassing a senior project management consultant in May this year. The consultant, who was employed with KPMG, was deputed at the MSRTC headquarters on contractual basis when the officer allegedly offered her an out-of-turn promotion and other benefits in lieu of sexual favours.

According to the police, the accused, identified as Virendra Kadam, retired from MSRTC as a deputy general manager earlier this year. Prior to his retirement, on May 29, 2024, he held a meeting at the MSRTC headquarters with the consultant, her colleague, some MSRTC officers and a payments bank representative.

When the meeting ended, Kadam asked the consultant to stay back, ordered tea and biscuits for her and approached her suddenly. He made sexually suggestive comments, implying that “her professional advancement within the organisation could be contingent upon her willingness to be more accommodating to his advances.” He also cited the example of one of her senior colleagues who had done the same and reaped rewards, she told the police.

In her complaint, the consultant mentioned that Kadam continued with his lewd remarks despite her visible discomfort and attempts to steer the conversation back to professional matters. He offered to release a major work order for KPMG and recommend her for an out of turn promotion in lieu of sexual favours. He also claimed he would issue a work order to E&Y and “get her placed” in that organisation as an assistant director within six months.

The retired MSRTC officer further told her that he was deprived of physical intimacy and offered to book a hotel room if she agreed to his offer of being “friends with benefits”, she stated in the complaint.

The consultant approached higher-ups in Mantralalya after the incident, and her complaint was referred to the Internal Complaints Committee of the road transport corporation, she told the police. But the composition of the committee was changed to suit the accused, forcing her to approach the state authorities again.

This time, she also filed a complaint with the police, based on which Kadam was booked under 354A (sexual harassment) of the Indian Penal Code. The section attracts imprisonment for up to three years and/ or fine in case of physical contact and advances involving unwelcome and explicit sexual overtures, and a year’s imprisonment and/ or fine in case of sexually coloured remarks.

A KPMG spokesperson refused to comment on the matter, saying it would not be appropriate as the case was under investigation by the Internal Complaints Commitee as well as the Nagpada police.