Diana Edulji, part of the two-member Committee of Administrators (CoA), wanted to sack Rahul Johri, BCCI’s CEO, after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced against him but Vinod Rai, the chairman of CoA, after legal consultations, decided to set up an independent committee to investigate the accusations.
The independent committee would probe the charge of sexual molestation that dates back to Johri’s previous employment with Discovery and is also free to investigate any complaint from any staff from within BCCI against Johri, who joined as BCCI CEO in April 2016.
The independent committee would comprise Justice Rakesh Sharma, a former Judge of Allahabad High Court, Barkha Singh, former chairperson of Delhi commission for Women, and PC Sharma, former director of CBI. They would submit their report, with findings and recommendations on way forward, within 15 days and Johri would continue to remain on leave until the issue is resolved.
There was some ambiguity on whether the independent committee can probe allegations dating to Johri’s previous employment as well but Rai clarified that they can do so. “The committee is free to probe to all allegations against Johri – from past employment or with BCCI,” Rai clarified to The Indian Express.
On Thursday, hours before news of independent committee was made public, seven state units of BCCI had demanded suspension of Johri. In another development, it’s learnt that Johri had submitted to CoA names of 11 women colleagues from Discovery who can vouch for his character and conduct.
