#MeToo Allegations: CEO Tanmay Bhat 'steps away' from AIB, Gursimran Khamba sent on leave
Mumbai, Oct 8: AIB founders Tanmay Bhat and Gursimran Khamba are distancing themselves from the comedy group, which has been battling allegations of sexual harassment against its members, the company announced Monday.
While Bhat has come under attack for his inaction in the complaints against writer-comedian Utsav Chakraborty, Khamba has been directly accused of sexual misconduct.
The future of the group, which also includes Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya and became popular for its 'roasts' and satires, faces an uncertain future, said Vidhi Jotwani, HR head at AIB.
"Truthfully, we don't know what this means for the future of AIB or whether there is one. In the interim, Ashish Shakya, Rohan Joshi and other senior team members will work towards being able to answer that question over the next several months," she said in a statement.
Bhat, the statement added, will not be involved with the day-to-day functioning of the company.
"We have been closely monitoring the sequence of events on social media around the allegations against AIB and also against our co-founder and CEO, Tanmay Bhat. We cannot overlook Tanmay's role and in light of this, he will be stepping away from his association with AIB until further notice.
"This implies that Tanmay will not be involved with the day to day functioning of AIB or in any other manner," the statement posted on the company's official Twitter account read.
Khamba, who has been accused by a woman of misconduct, has issued a separate statement denying "any violation of consent".
Jotwani said the comic will be on leave till the company has more clarity on the matter.
"We have also just been appraised of the allegations against Gursimran Khambha on social media. At this point in time, these allegations pertain to a private matter and he has released a statement of his own about the same.
"However, as an organisation, we believe that it would be prudent to place Gursimran Khamba on a temporary leave of absence until we have more clarity on the matter."
She added that it was everyone's right to work in a safe environment and AIB hopes to "enable measures to establish our commitment to creating a gender sensitive workspace. We are in the process of consulting various experts to ensure that our work culture incorporates sensitivity, inclusivity, respect and fairness".
Allegations against Chakraborty surfaced last week with multiple women accusing him of sending them unsolicited nude pictures.
AIB had issued a statement condemning Chakraborty and pledged to not work with him in future.
Over the weekend, as the storm around the #MeToo movement gathered force, production house Phantom Films announced that the company has been dissolved following allegations of sexual misconduct against director Vikas Bahl.
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Trump pauses Project Freedom, claims great progress for final agreement with Iran
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump has suspended “Project Freedom,” to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz, claiming progress in negotiations with Iran toward an agreement to end the war.
In a post on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said, “Great progress has been made toward a complete and final agreement with representatives of Iran.”
“Based on the request of Pakistan and other Countries, the tremendous Military Success that we have had during the Campaign against the Country of Iran and, additionally, the fact that Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement with Representatives of Iran, we have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom (The Movement of Ships through the Strait of Hormuz) will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump said.
Project Freedom was launched on Monday to escort ships, stranded due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, out to safety. Trump had announced the operation on Sunday and the US Central Command began implementing it the next day.
However, the Project led to friction in the vicinity of the narrow seaway, a key route for transporting one-fifth of the global oil supplies, with the UAE claiming that its ships were attacked by Iran. The US also claimed to have destroyed several Iranian small boats.
Trump’s statement on Truth Social came hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Operation Epic Fury, launched on February 28, had concluded as its objectives have been achieved.
"Operation Epic Fury is concluded. We achieved the objectives of that operation. We're not cheering for an additional situation to occur. We would prefer the path of peace. What @POTUS would prefer is a deal... that is, so far, not the route that Iran has chosen," Rubio told a press conference at the White House on Tuesday.
On Project Freedom, Rubio said the goal was to rescue almost 23,000 civilians from 87 different countries who were trapped inside the Persian Gulf and left for dead by the Iranian regime.
"This is not an offensive operation. This is a defensive operation, and what that means is very simple: there’s no shooting unless we're shot at first. We’re not attacking them, but if they're attacking us or they’re attacking a ship, you need to respond to that," Rubio said.
