India’s ‘missile woman’ Tessy Thomas allegedly pressurised to withdraw complaint.
AB Wire
The Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) missile unit in Hyderabad has brushed aside a sexual harassment complaint by a former researcher against its senior scientist.
“It does not seem to be a genuine case and we had formed a committee to investigate. The charges were not found to be true,” Tessy Thomas, the director of by Advanced Systems Laboratory, was quoted by Economic Times as saying.
However, the victim has alleged that she had been intimidated into withdrawing the complaint by Thomas, who is known as India’s ‘Missile Woman’.
Thomas didn’t any take action even after being presented with a proof of harassment by a grade E officer and her immediate supervisor, she said.
When media questioned about the allegation that the woman didn’t get a fair hearing, Thomas, who was the first women scientist to head a missile project in India, said that the representative of an NGO had been consulted to ensure that the right decision was taken.
Unsatisfied by the manner in which Thomas and other DRDO officials handled the issue, the victim sent her complaint to the DRDO headquarters.
In her letter, the victim has said that during a meeting held at Tessy Thomas’s office, which lasted for several hours, the interrogation was directed at the victim herself than the accused scientist because of his seniority.
She also said that her supervisor had been harassing her by making advances over several months including numerous late night messages and phone calls.
The Hyderabad based researcher was working with DRDO on contract and was terminated from service on September 30.