#MeToo: Alok Nath accused of rape, MJ Akbar and Rajat Kapoor accused of sexual misconduct

The #MeToo campaign on Twitter gathers momentum amid fresh allegations surfaced against some high profile names of the media industry, politics and Bollywood.

After writer Chetan Bhagat, Hindustan Times Nepalese Associate Editor Prashant Jha,  bollywood film director Vikas Behl and bollywood singer Kailash Kher, the fresh allegations are being labelled against the former veteran journalist turned Rajya Sabha MP Mobashar Javed Akbar alias M J Akbar, senior bollywood actor Alok Nath and 'Mulk' actor Rajat Kapoor.

Journalist Priya Ramani has called out MJ Akbar on Twitter referring a year old piece written in Vogue. 

 

"Dear Male Boss,

You taught me my first workplace lesson. I was 23, you were 43. I grew up reading your smart opinions and dreamt of being as erudite as you. You were one of my professional heroes. Everyone said you had transformed Indian journalism and I wanted to be on your team. So, we set a time you could interview me at the plush south Mumbai hotel where you always stayed.

It was 7pm, but that didn’t bother me. I knew you were a busy editor. When I got to the lobby, I called you on the house phone. Come up, you said. Err really? Maybe that’s how celebrity editors interviewed newbies, I thought. Back then I didn’t have the confidence to say: “No, I’ll wait for you in the lobby, you pervert.”

Turns out you were as talented a predator as you were a writer. It was more date, less interview. You offered me a drink from the mini bar (I refused, you drank vodka), we sat on a small table for two that overlooked the Queen’s Necklace (how romantic!) and you sang me old Hindi songs after inquiring after my musical preferences. You thought you were irresistible.

The bed, a scary interview accompaniment, was already turned down for the night. Come sit here, you said at one point, gesturing to a tiny space near you. I’m fine, I replied with a strained smile. I escaped that night, you hired me, I worked for you for many months even though I swore I would never be in a room alone with you again.

All these years later the world has changed but your species is just the same. You still think it’s your right to take your pick of the bright professional young women who enter YOUR workspace. You whip out your tired tricks for a new batch of women every year. “Watch me shower.” “Can I give you a massage?” “A shoulder rub?” “I’m ready for my blow job now.” “Are you married?”

You’re an expert on obscene phone calls, texts, inappropriate compliments and not taking no for an answer. You know how to pinch, pat, rub, grab and assault. Speaking up against you still carries a heavy price that many young women cannot afford to pay. Sometimes you are inconvenienced when the stories get out and you are asked to take a time out. Often, you are quickly reinstated. Why would you need to evolve, right?

Sure, there are many male bosses who don’t think of us as their personal harem, but I haven’t met too many who are ready to stand up with us and call out your misogyny. It doesn’t matter. There are more brave women now who are not scared to point out the monster in the suit.

We’ll get you all one day.

Priya Ramani"

M J Akbar or his ministry has not issued any statement prior this allegation by Priya Ramani.

The other name in this league is the famous 'Sanskari' babuji of TV serials and veteran bollywood actor Alok Nath.

Vinta Nanda, Director of 'Tara' ,a daily soap opera in 90s- narrated the ordeal in a long Facebook post and alleged Alok nath of rape. 

Vinta's revelations are shocking. She posted, "I can remember more liquor being poured into my mouth and I remember being violated endlessly. When I woke up next afternoon,  I was in pain. I had not just been raped but I was taken to my own house and had been brutalised."

In the last few paragraphs of her post, Vinta says, "I have waited almost 19 years for this to come out. Irony is that the man, the predator in question here is actor par excellence who is known as the most #Sanskari (Cultured) in the film and television industry."

Freelance journalist Sandhya Menon tweeted 4 screenshots in which two women journalists have alleged a man named Rajat Kapoor who is a film actor and director. It is believed that the accused is the famous Mulk actor Rajat Kapoor. Here are the screenshots:

Actor Rajat Kapoor later apologized.