#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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Spurious ointment racket busted; Delhi Police recovers material worth Rs 2 crore from Ghaziabad unit
New Delhi (PTI): The Delhi Police has busted a major interstate racket allegedly involved in the manufacture, repackaging and nationwide sale of spurious Schedule-H medicines, an official said on Sunday.
Police have also located a manufacturing unit and seized counterfeit drugs and raw material worth over Rs 2.3 crore.
According to the police, two men -- Gaurav Bhagat, a resident of Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad, and Shree Ram alias Vishal Gupta of northeast Delhi's Sabhapur -- have been arrested in the case, he said.
"The operation was carried out by the Crime Branch. The accused were engaged in producing and selling counterfeit versions of popular prescription ointments, including Betnovate-C and Clop-G, which are widely used for treating skin infections, allergies and sports-related injuries," Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime Branch) Aditya Gautam said in a statement.
The officer further said the spurious medicines were sold as genuine branded products, posing a serious risk to public health.
Acting on inputs, the Crime Branch team first conducted a raid at Teliwara in Sadar Bazar, one of the country's largest wholesale pharmaceutical and cosmetic markets.
"During the raid, a large quantity of counterfeit Schedule-H ointments was recovered. Subsequent technical analysis and follow-up intelligence led the team to a manufacturing unit operating from Meerpur Hindu village in the Loni area of Ghaziabad.
"A search of the premises resulted in the recovery of counterfeit medicines, huge quantities of raw chemicals, packing material, empty tubes bearing forged brand labels and machinery used for mixing, filling and sealing ointments," the DCP said.
He further said drug inspectors from the North and Central Zones of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, along with authorised representatives of the concerned pharmaceutical companies, conducted spot inspections and drew samples from the seized stock. They confirmed that the medicines were counterfeit and neither manufactured nor supplied by their companies.
The accused were also found to be operating without any valid licence to manufacture, store or sell pharmaceutical products, he added.
Police said that an FIR was registered at the Crime Branch police station on December 12 under various sections of the BNS and provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
"The seized material included around 1,200 tubes of spurious Betnovate-C ointment, over 2,700 tubes of fake Clop-G, more than 3,700 tubes of spurious Skin-Shine ointment, nearly 22,000 empty fake Clop-G tubes, over 350 kilograms of semi-prepared ointment, besides chemicals and manufacturing equipment," the DCP said.
He said further investigation is underway to trace the entire supply chain, including wholesalers, distributors, delivery handlers and retailers involved in the illegal trade.
