#MeToo Movement: Indian woman accuses Arjuna Ranatunga of sexual harassment

The incident happened years back in Mumbai when Ranatunga was on a tour to India with the Sri Lankan team

India’s #MeToo movement has given numerous women a platform to come up and share the incidents of harassment they have faced in the hands of the men. After a plethora of celebrities from Bollywood, politics, business and media came under the scanner, the name of a legendary cricketer has freshly popped up.

Sri Lanka’s world cup winning skipper Arjuna Ranatunga (currently Sri Lanka's Minister of Petroleum Resources Development) is the newest person on the list. An Indian female flight attendant has accused the former Lankan skipper of sexually harassing her at a hotel in Mumbai.

The lady narrated her story through a long Facebook post which she made on October 9. She described 4 different heart-wrenching encounters with four different males including Ranatunga and veteran Bollywood playback singer Abhijeet Bhattacharya.

According to the post, the incident happened years back in Mumbai when Ranatunga was on a tour to India with the Sri Lankan team. She described that the veteran cricketer allegedly grabbed her waist. She later ran to the hotel reception and complained the entire episode. Unfortunately, the staff allegedly told her, “It is your private matter.”

“My starstruck colleague spotted Indian and Sri Lankan cricketers in the elevator of Hotel Juhu Centaur, Mumbai and decided to meet them in their room for autographs. I decided to chaperone her, fearing for her safety, we were offered drinks (perhaps laced) I declined and stuck to my bottle of water I'd brought along. They were 7 and we 2, they latched the room door putting the chain securely. My discomfort growing inside of me, I urged her to get back to our room.

Here’s her Facebook post:

It has been 24 hours that the lady has made serious allegations while Ranatunga hasn’t responded yet,

Arjuna Ranatunga is Sri Lanka's most cricketer captains so far. He led the country to World Cup glory in 1996. He also had scored 5105 runs in 93 Tests and 7456 runs in 269 ODIs.