New Delhi: The Kochi Biennale Foundation Thursday dropped an inquiry in the absence of any 'forthcoming complaint' against co-founder Riyas Komu who was anonymously accused of sexual misconduct in October last year.
"Since no complaint was forthcoming after pursuing the matter for several weeks, the ICC recommended the dropping of the inquiry suggested by the Foundation," the board of trustees of KBF said in a statement.
"This recommendation has been examined and has been accepted by the board of trustees at its meeting today," the board added.
Following the allegations, Komu had stepped down from all management positions for the biennale on October 19. He was accused of allegedly 'grabbing and kissing' the survivor.
A trustee meeting was then convened where it was decided that Lizzie Jacob, the trustee and former Chief Secretary of Kerala, and Chair of the Internal Complaints Committee, would proactively seek the complaint and authorise an inquiry, the statement said.
With the dropping of the inquiry, Komu, who was also the secretary of the foundation, will now be resuming all his roles at the foundation, the statement said.
The #MeToo movement had created a storm in India last year with a number of women speaking about sexual harassment at workplace and outed their alleged tormentors. Several celebrities including actors Nana Patekar, Alok Nath, filmmaker Subhash Ghai, author Chetan Bhagat, singer Kailash Kher and Tamil lyricist Vairamuthu are among the few who have been called out by their alleged victims.
