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Kohli: Scotland police investigate ex-BBC presenter Hardeep Singh Kohli for sex harassment of over 20 women | India News
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LONDON: Police in Scotland have opened investigations into sexual harassment allegations against British Indian Sikh broadcaster, writer, chef and comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli.
Kohli (54), who describes himself as a “broadcaster, podcaster and curry content creator”, has presented several programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters. He was runner-up in the 2006 edition of BBC One’s “Celebrity Masterchef”, a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother” and a regular guest on BBC’s “Question Time”.
The BBC cut all ties with him in 2020 after he was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by numerous women following an investigation by the Times of London.
Various women relayed how he tried to kiss them, or asked them to have sex, groped them or bombarded them with unwanted sexual messages. That led the Gilded Balloon, one of the main venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, to impose a lifetime ban on Kohli following complaints from its staff and performers.
Kohli apologised in a statement in 2020 for making women feel “intimidated, undermined and undervalued”.
Now more women have come forward to make allegations against him, bringing the total number of complainants to more than 20.
Last week Kohli was banned for life from all of the Fringe venue operator Pleasance’s 27 venues, which had previously hosted Kohli’s performances. Pleasance took action after a woman alleged that he groped her breasts in a lift at the festival in 2013 — when she was 19 and he was 44 – according to the Times.
In another new complaint, a woman has alleged that Kohli made unwanted and aggressive sexual advances towards her after inviting her for an interview at his London flat when she was 22. “He repeatedly asked for sex, over and over again. He got aggressive and angry,” she claimed. “I wanted to escape out of the window, but the flat was too high. After a few minutes I took deep breaths and came out. He looked at me and said, ‘You can go now.’ He marched me to his front door and said, ‘You had your chance’,” she told the Times.
Police on Wednesday confirmed they are investigating as a result of new claims against Kohli. A Police Scotland spokesperson told TOI: “We have received additional complaints and enquiries are ongoing.”
One of the original complainants who alleged that Kohli came to her house and tried to kiss her and asked her to perform oral sex told the BBC she has received an email from the police asking if they could interview her.
Kohli was born in London. His parents came to Britain from Punjab, India, in the 1960s. The latest revelations come as the BBC is engulfed in a huge scandal over one of its star presenters being accused by a teenager’s mother of paying £35,000 (Rs 37 lakh) to the teenager when she was 17 in return for sending the presenter sexually explicit images.
Kohli (54), who describes himself as a “broadcaster, podcaster and curry content creator”, has presented several programmes for the BBC and other broadcasters. He was runner-up in the 2006 edition of BBC One’s “Celebrity Masterchef”, a contestant on “Celebrity Big Brother” and a regular guest on BBC’s “Question Time”.
The BBC cut all ties with him in 2020 after he was accused of sexually inappropriate behaviour by numerous women following an investigation by the Times of London.
Various women relayed how he tried to kiss them, or asked them to have sex, groped them or bombarded them with unwanted sexual messages. That led the Gilded Balloon, one of the main venue operators at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, to impose a lifetime ban on Kohli following complaints from its staff and performers.
Kohli apologised in a statement in 2020 for making women feel “intimidated, undermined and undervalued”.
Now more women have come forward to make allegations against him, bringing the total number of complainants to more than 20.
Last week Kohli was banned for life from all of the Fringe venue operator Pleasance’s 27 venues, which had previously hosted Kohli’s performances. Pleasance took action after a woman alleged that he groped her breasts in a lift at the festival in 2013 — when she was 19 and he was 44 – according to the Times.
In another new complaint, a woman has alleged that Kohli made unwanted and aggressive sexual advances towards her after inviting her for an interview at his London flat when she was 22. “He repeatedly asked for sex, over and over again. He got aggressive and angry,” she claimed. “I wanted to escape out of the window, but the flat was too high. After a few minutes I took deep breaths and came out. He looked at me and said, ‘You can go now.’ He marched me to his front door and said, ‘You had your chance’,” she told the Times.
Police on Wednesday confirmed they are investigating as a result of new claims against Kohli. A Police Scotland spokesperson told TOI: “We have received additional complaints and enquiries are ongoing.”
One of the original complainants who alleged that Kohli came to her house and tried to kiss her and asked her to perform oral sex told the BBC she has received an email from the police asking if they could interview her.
Kohli was born in London. His parents came to Britain from Punjab, India, in the 1960s. The latest revelations come as the BBC is engulfed in a huge scandal over one of its star presenters being accused by a teenager’s mother of paying £35,000 (Rs 37 lakh) to the teenager when she was 17 in return for sending the presenter sexually explicit images.
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