The management of Kerala Kaumudi has issued a strict guideline to all employees, following the harassment of one of their staffers by another. In the case in which one of its employees, M Radhakrishnan, has been accused of harassment, the media organisation has proactively called out employees for spreading rumours and gossiping about the victim, who is a senior reporter in the organisation.
Noting that some employees are indulging in gossip, character assassination and victim-blaming after an incident of harassment against a staff member(s), the management added, “Such rumour campaigns are dangerous and damaging. It not only destroys the affected person's morale but can become a threat to their personal safety and security.”
This comes a week after M Radhakrishnan, who is also the Thiruvananthapuram Press Club secretary, barged into the house of the woman journalist, along with a group of men, on the night of November 30. The woman and her children were alone at home at the time, while the husband - also a journalist - was at work. Radhakrishan questioned her relationship with her male friend who had visited her that night. He also pushed her and the children into a room and began intimidating and harassing them. Although the woman filed a complaint and the police booked Radhakrishan, he was not arrested. After a group of women journalists protested, he was arrested on December 5. It has been shared widely in journalists circles that Radhakrishnan and his friends had been spreading rumours about the victim.
Kerala Kaumadi also pointed out rumour-mongering after such incidents only “vitiates the office environment and undermines the trust and confidence that employees have in the company”.
The organisation has stated that stringent and severe action will be taken against any employee, including the most senior staff members, found spreading gossips and lies about a victim.
“Employees must be supportive of their affected colleague and focus on their work instead of wasting precious time and energy on harmful speculation,” the statement added.
Press Club members resign
Meanwhile, a day after Radhakrishnan was suspended as the secretary and primary member of the Thiruvanthapuram Press Club, nine members of the managing committee, including Radhakrishnan, tendered their resignations on Tuesday.
The nine members resigned after the Press Club joint secretary Sabloo Thomas held the meeting on Monday and unanimously took the decision to suspend Radhakrishnan in the capacity of Acting Secretary.
Sabloo took the decision after members of the NWMI or Network of Women in Media took out a march from the Secretariat to the press club on Monday. As the protest intensified, Sabloo reached the press club and issued a letter to the NWMI members, stating Radhakrishnan's suspension.
Calling Sabloo's decision unconstitutional and autocratic, Sonichan Joseph (President), M Radhakrishnan (Secretary), Haris Kuttipuram (Vice President) and other committee members - S Sreekesh, PMBiju Kumar, Rajesh Ulloor, H Honey, Lakshmi Mohan, Aji Budhanoor - resigned.
“Sabloo, a temporary secretary, along with people who try to destroy press club, without even informing Sonichan called managing committee and general body meeting. Decisions of a managing body can be withheld or dismissed only by that particular body. Sabloo Thomas’s move was against the constitution of the press club,” the resignation letter stated.
It is to be noted that these committee members of the press club did not issue a word of support for the victim and have been accused of siding with Radhakrishnan from the very beginning.