Mallika Dua responds to MeToo claims against father Vinod Dua, says she stands by him, the movement

Vinod Dua’s daughter Mallika Dua has issued a statement on Instagram after he was accused of sexual harassment. He has denied the charges.

After senior journalist Vinod Dua was accused of sexual harassment by filmmaker Nishtha Jain, daughter Mallika Dua, stand-up comedian and social media influencer, said she is in solidarity with the #MeToo movement and will let her father fight his battle while she stands by him.

Mallika Dua has addressed sexual harassment allegations against father Vinod Dua in her Instagram post.

Jain had accused Dua of sexually harassing her almost three decades ago in a Facebook post on Friday; the journalist has denied the allegations. Mallika addressed her Instagram post to Jain, reiterating her support to the #MeToo movement and writing if “at all my father is truly guilty of what you described, it is unacceptable, traumatic and painful.”

She ended the post saying, “This is my dad’s battle, I will let him fight it and I will stand by him.”

Jain apologised to Mallika for “inadvertently” shaming her. “I had no such intention. Thanks for friends and supporters for pointing this out. She’s in no way responsible for her father’s acts. However, I do hope she’ll be able to believe me, empathise with me as well as the other women he has harassed,” she wrote on Facebook.

Acting on the allegations, Dua’s present employer The Wire has issued a statement which said he has denied the charge. “We await the outcome of their deliberations in the matter,” it said. The #MeToo movement is gaining momentum in India with personalities from film industry, media and sports being called out by women on social media.