Taking strong note of allegations of sexual harassment of women presenters in All India Radio, the Prasar Bharati has discontinued services of two employees, suspended another and given a show cause notice to the head of its Delhi Kendra.
Prasar Bharati's action came after senior officials had perused material related to the allegations made by the presenters, represented by AIR Broadcasting Professionals Association (AIRBPA).
An order issued by Prasar Bharati's Member Personnel Brig (retd) V A M Hussain with the approval of CEO Jawhar Sircar on Monday noted that the "issue is sensitive and has given a poor image of the Public Sector Broadcaster in National Press which is rather painful because we are maintained by the tax payers."
The order named two employees against whom there had been serious allegations and said they needed to be removed from their duties with immediate effect and also instructed that a ban be placed on them for any future assignment.
The order also placed under suspension an official who was in-charge of AIR FM and responsible for supervision, assignments and administration of the channel for not having acted effectively on the complaints.
Prasar Bharati also instructed that a show cause notice be issued to the head of its Delhi Kendra who had been informed of the lapses either orally or in person by the staff or by the presenters and the official appeared to have taken no effective action.
The order which was forwarded to AIR's Director General D G Mandloi said necessary directions be given in writing for strict compliance of the guidelines related to safety and security of women employees, including casual assignees.
