KOLKATA: Bengal Police on Saturday registered an FIR against steel firm CEO Dinesh Saraogi for alleged sexual assault on a 28-year-old woman on a July 16 Kolkata-Abu Dhabi flight. Separately, Vulcan Green Steel, the Jindal Group firm that Saraogi heads, placed him on “administrative leave and appointed an independent third-party” for an internal probe.
Saraogi has been booked under provisions that could land him in jail for up to five years on conviction.
The FIR was filed after the woman’s parents went to Kolkata airport police station and submitted a formal complaint. The woman was on her way to the US when Saraogi allegedly showed her porn and groped her. She had described her ordeal in a detailed social media post.
“I wasn’t able to forgive myself for letting the man go. But now that a case has been registered, I hope I will get justice,” the woman told TOI from Boston on Saturday. Saraogi was detained after disembarking at Abu Dhabi but was let off as the woman had a connecting flight to Boston and was unable to go to the police station there to lodge an official complaint.
Saraogi has been booked under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 75 (sexual harassment) and 79 (uttering words or making sound or gesture or exhibit any object that insults the modesty of a woman and intrudes upon her privacy) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), said police.
“We will record the woman’s statement over video call as she is in the US and will proceed with the investigation,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar City Police. Kolkata airport falls under Bidhannagar Police.
Police were trying to reach Saraogi in Oman, where he is currently based, and a notice will be sent to his registered addresses to appear for investigation, the officer said.
Speaking to TOI on Saturday, the woman’s father explained further why his daughter could not lodge the complaint in Abu Dhabi itself. “The Kolkata-Abu Dhabi flight was already 40 minutes late and the only flight to Boston for that day would have departed in barely an hour. She couldn’t take the risk as she had a visa compliance that required her to re-enter the country within a certain time frame and she couldn’t afford a 24-hour delay,” the father said. He expressed happiness with the cooperation of the Bengal police in lodging the FIR.
TOI’s multiple calls to Saraogi on Saturday went unanswered. There was no response to text messages, either. Saraogi is CEO (projects) of Vulcan Green Steel, a sister concern of Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel and promoted by the Jindal Group. Vulcan is setting up a steel plant in Oman.
The woman’s social media post describing the alleged sexual assault in the Etihad Airways flight had prompted Jindal Group chief and BJP MP Naveen Jindal to assure her of “strictest necessary action” against the perpetrator.
In a statement on Saturday, Vulcan Green Steel put out a statement saying it was “deeply concerned about the allegations involving a senior executive in our company”. “We recognise the gravity of the situation and are committed to address it with utmost seriousness and urgency. To maintain impartiality, we are appointing an independent credible third party to lead the investigation,” the statement read.
Jindal Steel – the listed entity of the group – submitted a clarification on the allegations against Saraogi to stock exchanges after the BSE and NSE sought an explanation on the matter.
The clarification to the exchanges, sent late Friday, says Saraogi had resigned as director of Jindal Steel on March 28, 2023. “Saraogi is no longer associated with the company in any capacity. We would like to emphasise that the company upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any incidents of this nature as reported in the news article under reference,” Jindal Steel’s reply to BSE and NSE states.
Saraogi has been booked under provisions that could land him in jail for up to five years on conviction.
The FIR was filed after the woman’s parents went to Kolkata airport police station and submitted a formal complaint. The woman was on her way to the US when Saraogi allegedly showed her porn and groped her. She had described her ordeal in a detailed social media post.
“I wasn’t able to forgive myself for letting the man go. But now that a case has been registered, I hope I will get justice,” the woman told TOI from Boston on Saturday. Saraogi was detained after disembarking at Abu Dhabi but was let off as the woman had a connecting flight to Boston and was unable to go to the police station there to lodge an official complaint.
Saraogi has been booked under sections 74 (assault or use of criminal force with intent to outrage modesty), 75 (sexual harassment) and 79 (uttering words or making sound or gesture or exhibit any object that insults the modesty of a woman and intrudes upon her privacy) of Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), said police.
“We will record the woman’s statement over video call as she is in the US and will proceed with the investigation,” said a senior officer of Bidhannagar City Police. Kolkata airport falls under Bidhannagar Police.
Police were trying to reach Saraogi in Oman, where he is currently based, and a notice will be sent to his registered addresses to appear for investigation, the officer said.
Speaking to TOI on Saturday, the woman’s father explained further why his daughter could not lodge the complaint in Abu Dhabi itself. “The Kolkata-Abu Dhabi flight was already 40 minutes late and the only flight to Boston for that day would have departed in barely an hour. She couldn’t take the risk as she had a visa compliance that required her to re-enter the country within a certain time frame and she couldn’t afford a 24-hour delay,” the father said. He expressed happiness with the cooperation of the Bengal police in lodging the FIR.
TOI’s multiple calls to Saraogi on Saturday went unanswered. There was no response to text messages, either. Saraogi is CEO (projects) of Vulcan Green Steel, a sister concern of Jindal Shadeed Iron and Steel and promoted by the Jindal Group. Vulcan is setting up a steel plant in Oman.
The woman’s social media post describing the alleged sexual assault in the Etihad Airways flight had prompted Jindal Group chief and BJP MP Naveen Jindal to assure her of “strictest necessary action” against the perpetrator.
In a statement on Saturday, Vulcan Green Steel put out a statement saying it was “deeply concerned about the allegations involving a senior executive in our company”. “We recognise the gravity of the situation and are committed to address it with utmost seriousness and urgency. To maintain impartiality, we are appointing an independent credible third party to lead the investigation,” the statement read.
Jindal Steel – the listed entity of the group – submitted a clarification on the allegations against Saraogi to stock exchanges after the BSE and NSE sought an explanation on the matter.
The clarification to the exchanges, sent late Friday, says Saraogi had resigned as director of Jindal Steel on March 28, 2023. “Saraogi is no longer associated with the company in any capacity. We would like to emphasise that the company upholds a zero-tolerance policy towards any incidents of this nature as reported in the news article under reference,” Jindal Steel’s reply to BSE and NSE states.