#MeToo Stings Binny Bansal – Sexual Harassment Case Led To His Sudden Resignation From Flipkart
Sexual harassment case against Binny Bansal led to his exit from Flipkart, as per reports.
Yesterday, we had reported Binny Bansal, the CEO of Flipkart Group had suddenly, and abruptly resigned from his post.
And Walmart, which had acquired Flipkart for $16 billion in May this year, had accepted his resignation as well.
Now, details of the reason behind his resignation are slowly emerging.
It seems that #MeToo movement has stung Binny Bansal, as he was accused of sexual harassment by a female employee.
In their press statement, Walmart had only stated that Binny’s resignation was accepted due to his ‘personal misconduct’, and used phrases such as “other lapses of judgement” and the “lack of transparency”.
Sexual Harassment Case Against Binny Bansal
As per reports coming in, a Flipkart employee who left the company in 2012, had launched an event management firm, and came in contact with Binny Bansal in 2016.
It was during these interactions that Binny Bansal allegedly sexually harassed her.
After Walmart announced ther mega-deal with Flipkart this year, the former employee, the alleged victim contacted Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and informed him about Binny’s harassment case.
Walmart immediately hired an international law firm and investigated this case. However, they couldn’t prove the claims.
Yesterday in their press release, Walmart said the same thing: the charges weren’t proved.
But Why Did Walmart Accept Binny’s Resignation?
The actual reason it seems, is lack of transparency.
Walmart seemed to have irked due to the fact that Binny Bansal hid this fact from them during and after negotiations; and the fact that some money was paid to the woman by Binny Bansal was also hidden.
This is the reason terms like “other lapses of judgement” and the “lack of transparency” were used by Walmart for Binny.
Binny Bansal’s Last Email To Employees
Binny Bansal has vehemently denied all these allegations.
And the same was mentioned by Walmart in their press release as well.
In the email, Binny said that the allegation has “left me stunned and I strongly deny them,”. He said that he resigned because this matter would have proved to be a “distraction” for employees in the company.
He admitted that he didnt take the right decision, at the right time.
He said, “The investigation, however, did bring to light lapses in judgment, particularly a lack of transparency, related to how I responded to the situation.”
You can find his entire letter to employees here.
We will keep you updated, as more details come in.
