Rahul Easwar had invited the woman over to his flat, the woman had alleged. (File)
Highlights
- The woman alleged that Rahul Easwar forced himself multiple times on her
- Mr Easwar called the allegations as "an ultra-feminist conspiracy"
- Has led drive to block women aged 10-50 from Kerala's Sabarimala temple
Activist Rahul Easwar, who was arrested and then granted bail for his allegedly provocative remarks on the Sabarimala row, has been named in the #MeToo movement. Mr Easwar has denied any wrongdoing and said the allegations by the woman from Thiruvananthapuram were linked to the Sabarimala issue.
The woman, who has not revealed her identity, alleged that Mr Easwar forced himself on her multiple times in early 2000s, when she had just taken her Class 12 board exams. A close friend, with whom she had shared the matter on WhatsApp, had put it up on her Facebook.
Rahul Easwar told NDTV that the allegations were "an ultra-feminist conspiracy" against Sabarimala devotees. He alleged that with this, the government planned to arrest him again before November 5, when the Sabarimala temple opens again.
The account shared on Facebook alleges that in 2003-2004, Mr Easwar had invited the woman over to his flat. He had assured that his mother would be home but she was not. In the flat, he allegedly played a "soft porn movie" and molested the woman multiple times despite her protests.
She said she decided to call out Mr Easwar after so many years because "these memories came rushing back" after seeing him "everywhere" on television after the Sabarimala row.
The MeToo movement -- which began in the US more than a year ago after the Harvey Weinstein scandal -- gained traction in India last month after former actor Tanushree Dutta accused Nana Patekar of sexual harassment when they were working together on a film.
Since then, several men in media, entertainment, political and art worlds have been accused of offences ranging from sexual harassment to rape.