Patna,(BiharTimes): A written complaint of “mental harassment” at workplace was lodged by additional assistant director-cum-programme head of Patna Doordarshan, Ratna Purkayastha, against state food and consumer protection minister Shyam Rajak on Wednesday.

Besides, one of her colleagues, programme executive Navin Prasad, has been named in the case.

Ratna, who has been working with Doordarshan for last 30 years, In the complaint lodged with the Shastri Nagar police station, said that on November 22 this year, Rajak had called her up on her mobile phone and threatened her to listen to his “bhai”. The police said it was not clear who exactly the “bhai” was.

The complainant said ever since she took additional charge of assistant director-cum-programme head, one of her colleagues, Navin Prasad, a programme officer, started making requests to her to pass “various bills and other documents illegally.”

She further said gradually he started abusing her at the workplace. “He used to tell me that politician Shyam Rajak is his elder brother and he could eliminate me if I do not listen to his proposals. His interactions also went indecent.”

The complaint said five miscreants went to her apartment at Punaichak. They threatened her saying that if she did not agree to the proposals and sign the documents as desired by Navin Prasad, they would make her life miserable.

She said that on November 22 she received a call from the mobile number of the minister and “the caller asked me to go along with Navin Prasad’s proposals.”

"The minister was abusive in his conversation forcing Purkaystha to switch off her phone" said Shruti Singh, advocate .

Rajak denied the charges and said that he had just returned from Delhi where he had been campaigning for his party’s candidates for the Assembly election.

He said he did not remember calling anyone on November 22. Everyday, thousands of people come for ‘pairvi’. The minister asked a counter question: as to why she took 12 days to lodge a case against him.

The charges are completely false and baseless, he said.
The station house officer of Shastri Nagar police station, Vidya Bhushan, said no charges had been pressed as yet. He said the police have been investigating the matter.

Legal experts are of the view that a mental harassment case usually does not fall under the ambit of a criminal offence.

Patna SSP in charge B N Jha said the case is based on workplace harassment which needs to be probed properly.