Author Chetan Bhagat, accused of sending inappropriate messages to women, will be attending the Bangalore Lit Fest scheduled to take place in Bengaluru on October 27 and 28.
Chetan Bhagat will launch his new book ‘The Girl in Room 105’ at the event. However, the organisers have confirmed that Chetan will be addressing the allegations made against him at the event. Event organizers confirmed to TNM that they are aware of the allegations made against the author and he will be allowed to put forth his statement at the event. Chetan’s book was launched on Tuesday.
A screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation was posted on Twitter, Chetan Bhagat says he's decided to "woo" a woman since she's "sweet and cute and funny and a nice human being". When the woman points out that the author is married, he persists with the clearly unwelcome attention as she tries to discourage him.
Calling it a "misreading" of "friendliness", Chetan claimed that he'd been working on a book about "wooing" and relationships at the time and that this was the "context" for the conversation. He further claimed that there hadn't been anything physical or lewd in their exchange.
After another screenshot of a conversation with a writer was posted on Twitter, Chetan denied the allegations claimed that he was being ‘vilified and harassed.’
The seventh edition of the Bangalore LitFest, which will be held at the LaLit Ashok Hotel in Bengaluru, will feature around 150 writers and speakers from across the country. The other speakers scheduled to attend the Bangalore Lit Fest include names like Ramachandra Guha and Shashi Tharoor.
Since Friday, several Indian women from various fields have taken to Twitter to speak up about the sexual harassment that they have faced. Allegations have been made against many prominent men, including standup comedians, senior journalists and editors.