Retired MSRTC officer gets bail ahead of arrest in sexual harassment case | Bombay News

MUMBAI: The sessions court on Wednesday granted anticipatory bail to Veerendra Kadam, a retired Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) officer booked by the Nagpada police for sexually harassing an assistant consultant in the office of the society.

The complaint, filed by the KPMG consultant, refers to an incident on May 29 this year, when she and one of her colleagues were called into Kadam’s cabin for a routine team meeting. The MSRTC hired the complainant for various projects and alleged that Kadam offered her promotions and other benefits in exchange for sexual favors.

According to the complainant, after the meeting, the officer asked everyone, except the complainant, to leave the cabin. He allegedly told her that her career advancement within the organization was based on her “willingness to be more accommodating to his advances.”

He would have suggested establishing a “friends with benefits” relationship with him, Kadam would have offered to book a hotel, adding that he was deprived of physical relations. He allegedly offered to award a large work order to KPMG and recommend her for an unannounced promotion in lieu of sexual favors. The complainant mentioned that Kadam continued to make the obscene comments despite her visible discomfort and her attempts to return the conversation to professional matters.

Additional Sessions Judge Shayana V Patil granted Kadam pre-arrest bail by furnishing a personal surety of ₹50,000 and one or two solvent sureties of the same amount.

“We cited call recordings in which the officer called the complainant, asking her to compromise for favors. She is a single woman who came here to work. Even after filing the FIR, the officer threatened her to withdraw it through a source,” said additional public prosecutor Geeta Sharma.

In the anticipatory bail application filed by Kadam, he alleged that the complaint was false and was filed after the consultant was informed about her dismissal from MSRTC. The plea said the timing of filing the complaint showed it was an act of revenge after she was excluded from several projects due to her “inability to possess the required qualifications.”

The complainant hoped to continue working at MSRTC. When it became clear, on May 29, 2024, that she would no longer be retained, she filed this false, scandalous and baseless complaint to “tarnish her reputation,” the plea observes.

Kadam was booked under Section 354A (sexual harassment) of the IPC, based on the complaint filed by the complainant. The complainant alleged that the internal complaints committee formed was changed to suit the accused, after which she again approached the state authorities.