TVF chief accused of sexual abuse, firm denies allegations

BENGALURU: Arunabh Kumar, founder and CEO of Tiger Global-backed video content company TVF (The Viral Fever), has been accused of sexual harassment by multiple people. The company has called the allegations “ludicrous and defamatory“.It started with a person, who used the pseudonym `Indian Fowler'--a reference to former Uber employee Susan Fowler who raised similar charges recently against an executive at the global taxi aggregator--levelling accusations against Kumar through a post on the website, Medium.
In the post titled `The Indian Uber ­ That is TVF', Indian Fowler wrote that she was propositioned and sexually harassed by Kumar on multiple occasions and that it had become “routine“.She also said when she confronted Kumar, she was told by the company's legal department that she was in “breach of contract“.
Kumar did not respond to TOI's calls and messages to him on this matter. But later in the day , TVF released a statement calling the article “ludicrous and defamatory“ and the allegations as “false, baseless and unverified“. However, the statement attracted criticism for adding, “We will leave no stone unturned to find the author of the article and bring them to severe justice.“
Other TVF employees including directors Amit Golani and Biswapati Sarkar took to Twitter to dismiss the allegations, terming them sensational ist and false. However, since then, more have come forward on social media with similar allegations. One of them responded to Indian Fowler's post saying she, too, is a former TVF employee and “had to face a similar experience...I felt exploited and cheated...“ and added “It is indeed no place for a woman.“ Another Facebook user, describing her experience while shooting for a TVF web series, said she was faced with inappropriate behaviour (she does not name Kumar) and said “(I) know that this girl (Indian Fowler) definitely isn't the only girl he has been a sleaze to.“
Together with All India Bakchod (AIB), TVF has been among the successful online platforms attracting millions of viewers to its comic videos, and original web series such as TVF Pitchers about Indian startups. Early last year, it raised $10 million from marquee investor Tiger Global.TVF was founded by Kumar, an IIT graduate, in 2010.