Suresh Rangarajan, who was in charge of Corporate Communications at Tata Motors, has been sent on leave pending investigation following allegations of sexual harassment levelled against him.
The first allegations against Rangarajan was made by journalist Sandhya Menon on Twitter who posted screen shots of an online conversation she had with a woman who had earlier reported to Rangarajan.
The survivor, who chose to remain anonymous, detailed instances of alleged sexual harassment that included being propositioned, inappropriate language and being groped by him at the work place.
As Menon’s tweet went viral with the message being forwarded to senior Tata executives, the corporate group responded today that it was sending Rangarajan on leave pending an investigation into allegations against him.
“At Tata Motors, we have always striven to ensure a respectful and safe workplace for everyone. Any allegations are investigated and appropriate action is taken immediately. This matter has already been taken up for investigation by the internal complaints committee, set up as per law. Any such behaviour is against the Tata Code of Conduct and appropriate action will be taken as soon as the enquiry is completed.
“In light of the enquiry of ICC, Suresh Rangarajan has been asked to proceed on leave in order to allow an objective enquiry to be completed as swiftly as possible,” Tata Motors Human Resources department said on the company’s official Twitter handle.
Reports say Rangarajan is a veteran corporate communications executive having worked with a number of companies, including Vodafone, Nissan Motors and Niira Radia’s Vaishnavi Communications.
