Zilingo's Ankiti Bose Files FIR Against Co-Founder, Ex-COO Alleging Threat To Life, Sexual Harassment
Bose was removed from the top job at the once high-flying Zilingo due to financial irregularities in May 2022.
Zilingo co-founder and former Chief Executive Officer Ankiti Bose filed a complaint on Tuesday against former colleagues co-founder and Chief Technology Officer Dhruv Kapoor and Chief Operating Officer Aadi Vaidya, following which an FIR was registered in Mumbai.
In the eight-page FIR, a copy of which has been reviewed by NDTV Profit, the former Zilingo chief accused her then colleagues of mental harassment, demanding sexual favours and fraud. The charges date back to the period from March 2021 to October 2023.
Bose was removed from the top job at the once high-flying Zilingo due to financial irregularities in May 2022.
The FIR has been registered at the Kasturba Marg Police Station in Borivali East, Mumbai, under Sections 354-A and 354-D, which pertain to stalking and sexual harassment. According to the FIR, in March 2021, Kapoor and Vaidya demanded sexual favours in exchange for Bose to retain her position as CEO.
She has also alleged Kapoor and Vaidya indulged in defamatory posts online, even after her removal from the company, and she has filed a complaint since there is a threat to her life.
According to the FIR, Kapoor and Vaidya are also accused of defaming Bose in front of the company's investors by manipulating facts and intentionally concealing essential documents and information.
Bose attributed the delay in filing the FIR to her new job in Singapore, because of which she couldn't travel to Mumbai to file a formal complaint.
Pradeep Kumar Jain, managing partner at law firm Singhania & Co., confirmed that Bose, who is their client, had lodged the FIR.
In response to NDTV Profit's queries, Kapoor and Vaidya said Bose’s allegations are "baseless, untrue, and malicious".
"A thorough investigation has already proven her wrongdoing, based on which she was terminated from the company. This appears to be nothing but retaliatory behaviour. Throughout my tenure at Zilingo, I upheld my integrity by aiding the board's inquiry into Ankiti's misconduct, while fostering professional relationships and striving to build ethical products," Kapoor said.
"The allegations, as per media reports, made against me by Ankiti Bose are completely baseless and untrue. This seems like nothing but a clear afterthought done with a malicious intention to harm my reputation and harass me," Vaidya said.
Zilingo, which had investors such as Sequoia Capital India and Temasek Holdings, had been one of the high profile startups to emerge from Singapore.
It came under scrutiny following an accounting probe and the CEO's suspension in April 2022. Bose and Kapoor founded Zilingo in 2015 and raised as much as $225 million at a near-unicorn valuation of $970 million in 2019, when Bose was 27 years old.