#MeToo: Kaneez Surka accuses comedian Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment

In the #MeToo movement which is surging ahead, Mittal is the first woman to have been named for sexual harassment.

In the #MeToo movement which is surging ahead, Mittal is the first woman to have been named for sexual harassment.

NEW DELHI: Comedian Kaneez Surka has accused fellow comedian Aditi Mittal of sexual harassment, claiming she "forcibly kissed" her two years ago at a comedy show. Sukra alleged Mittal violated her boundaries of personal choice and "humiliated" her in front of an audience of 100 and many comedians. Taking to Twitter, Surka said, "Two years ago, at a comedy show, I was hosting at Andheri Base, in the presence of an audience of 100 and many comedians, Aditi Mittal walked up on the stage and forcibly kissed me on my mouth out of the blue and put her tongue in my mouth, while I was still on the stage and without my consent. “It left me humiliated, shocked and completely stripped of choice. Every person is entitled to choice and boundaries and she violated mine. While I mustered the courage to reach out to her a year ago, she first apologised but soon turned hostile towards me, leaving me confused and hurt.” Surka said seeing Mittal's name all over social media as "a champion of the cause" had been troubling her for some time. Surka said she once again spoke to Mittal Tuesday via a mutual friend to come out with a public apology and let her keep her identity secret. But this time Mittal "denied kissing me on the mouth, gaslighted me and asked to cross check". "Seeing her name all over Twitter as a champion of the cause has been triggering me immensely. Out of my disbelief that the opportunity to reform is the only way forward, yesterday, once again, I spoke to her through a mutual friend and requested her to come out with a public apology and save me the pain of having to reveal my identity. Despite having acknowledged it earlier, she denied kissing me on the mouth, gaslighted me and asked me to cross check." Surka's post read. Mittal retweeted Surka's post but has not issued any statement. In the #MeToo movement which is surging ahead, Mittal is the first woman to have been named for sexual harassment. The campaign first hit the comedy industry last week when Utsav Chakraborty was accused by multiple women for harassment with AIB co-founder Gursimran Khamba been directly accused of misconduct. AIB's Tanmay Bhat has stepped away from the comedy collective and Khamba has been sent on "temporary leave of absence". The #MeToo movement has intensified in the country with more women recounting their experiences of sexual harassment in the entertainment and media industry. (With inputs from PTI)