Now, second TERI woman staffer claims sexual harassment by R K Pachauri

Trouble mounted for R K Pachauri, in a legal battle over sexual harassment allegations, when another woman, a former employee of Teri, on Wednesday made similar allegations while demands were made for putting on hold his fresh appointment as Teri's executive vice-chairman.

The woman, to whom he had allegedly made sexual advances more than 10 years ago, slammed Teri for appointing him to a higher position two days ago.

Her lawyer Vrinda Grover said they had complained in February last year to police, which, according to her, has not done anything till date, forcing her to come out in public with the charges.

"Pachauri would use the excuse of work assignments to repeatedly call me to his office room, even though there was no real work that he needed to discuss.

"This made me feel very uncomfortable and I used to try to dodge some meetings or ask my colleagues to go for the meetings", the woman said during a telephonic interview with NDTV. When contacted, Pachauri's lawyer Ashish Dixit said he has not seen the second complaint and he cannot comment. Pachauri is already facing a case in Delhi High Court filed by another former TERI employee of sexual harassment. Slamming Pachauri's appointment, the second complainant said, "India's pathetic record on crime against women has touched an abyss. R K Pachauri, a serial sexual harasser, who should have been punished by now, has actually been rewarded with a new and higher position!"

Grover also asserted that the woman wanted to appear as "material evidence" in the on-going case against Pachauri to show his "character and conduct" with female employees.

The complaint, which originally made in February last year was circulated again today, alleged that "Soon after I joined TERI and began interacting with Pachauri, he had renamed me with a sexually suggestive nickname 'xxxx'.