New Delhi, October 16: Union Minister MJ Akbar, who is facing sexual harassment allegations under the #MeToo campaign, will be defended by 97 lawyers in a Delhi court where he has slapped a defamation suit against the complainants. Today, another woman has come forward with her experience of sexual harassment with MJ Akbar, thus taking the number to 16. Tushita Patel has written a blog in Scroll, and she narrates the horrifying experience which she had at Telegraph office in Calcutta. MJ Akbar, Facing #MeToo Allegations, Will be Defended by 97 Lawyers.

She goes on to say that the incident took place in 1992, when she had joined the Telegraph as a trainee, she had gone to meet Akbar with a few of her colleagues. After the meeting, Akbar obtained her home phone number and called her frequently, asking her to come to his hotel, and meet her. She writes the article, " You opened the door dressed only in your underwear. I stood at the door, stricken, scared and awkward. You stood there like the VIP man, amused by my fear.” Later in 1993, when Akbar was the editor-in-chief of Deccan Chronicle, he got up, kissed her hard. In the end, she pleads Akbar to stop lying and ends her article with 'You know who we are. You’ll recognise us when you see us at the barricades.'

Akbar, who returned to India on Sunday after an official visit to Africa, said the accusations pressed against him are "malicious, false and fabricated, spiced up by innuendo and malice". Union Textile Minister Smriti Irani reacted to the sexual harassment allegations levelled against her ministerial colleague, saying, "It is up to the concerned gentleman to issue a statement". Irani further stated that she could not comment as "I am not aware of the cases". The Opposition has been demanding the resignation of Akbar, but the latter refuses to budge from his position.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 16, 2018 03:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).