CAUTION, MEN AT WORK - II: STORIES OF SEXUAL HARASSMENT, FROM DEMPO COLLEGE TO HERALD PUBLICATIONS

This is the concluding part of Augusto Pinto's piece on the Herald sexual harassment case. We've put up those numbers again guys, at the bottom of the post. Just heard that Herald MD Raul Fernandes is back in Goa. If you guys want to ensure a fair trial, call any of these numbers up and remind these guys about their responsibility.
PenPricks


The Herald Sexual Harassment Case: Here Is The Connection In The Form Of A Few Comments, Predictions And Advice.

1] Like V.R.Naik, Manjunath will avoid appearing before the G.S.C.W. This puts all the burden of facing the tension of appearing before this Commission upon the victim and witnesses on her behalf.
2] If the victim is lucky, and has at least some deal of support from her colleagues, just as in the V.R.Naik case, the management may just capitulate and agree to setting up a Vishaka Committee. The idea will not be to settle the issue, but to further buy time that way.
3] The victim in he Herald case should be ever vigilant to ensure that she or those who will testify on her behalf, do not have anything to do with any in-house enquiry committee that may be appointed - again to obfuscate matters.
They should make sure that only a properly constituted Vishaka Commiittee does the enquiry. This is all the more imperative as there sems to be prima facie another case against one of the owners of Herald.
4] The victim has to face the additional tension of dealing with a defamation case. Just as in then V.R.Naik case. This helps to scare away witnesses who do not want to have to deal with law courts. There may also be the possibility for the accused to stall matters which are going on, by claiming that the matters are sub-juidice.
This might happen if the case is dealt with by a judge who is not sufficiently well-versed with the matter. Conclusion: The chances are great that the victim will be exhausted by all the burden she has to face and will settle out of court or even withdraw or worse still apologize.
Regards Augusto
P.S.: A couple of weeks before the Herald story broke, but almost certainly when the incidents of sexual harassment against the Herald victim had talready aken place, HCN aired a debate about, hold your breath - SEXUAL HARASSMENT - in a program called CROSSFIRE.
Pramod Salgaocar was on that programme, but so was - hold your breath - V.R.Naik. No mention was made that V.R. was indicted by the G.S.C.W. or the Dempo College Vishaka Committee.
The staff of Dempo College was incensed about this and went to protest at the Herald office. Nissar Dias was not in the office. We were put on the phone to the producer of the program, a glib talking chap called Junio D'Souza, whose defence was that he had no idea about the background of V.R.Naik!!.
This of course was nonsense, and we then went to Ashwin Tombat, who again tried to protest that he had no idea about what was happening at HCN and that he had no idea about the press note in his paper regarding the program!!
PATHETIC

(Ends)

Raul Fernandes 9822100188 (Herald MD and owner)
Oswald Fernandes 9823013308 (MD Raul's brother)
Manjunath 9822130034 (Herald GM)
Nissar 9422437029 (Editor HCN, that's where the victim was employed)
Michael 9822122304 (MD Raul's PA)
Ashwin Tombat 0832-2433373 (Herald Editor, direct line)
Ashwin Tombat 9421246332 (Herald Editor, mobile)
Herald board numbers 0091-832-2224202,2224460,2228083
Sunita 9881099260 (President Goa Union of Journalists)
Dr Pramod Salgaonkar 9822123050 (Chairperson, Goa Commission for Women)