A 19-year-old poet from Mumbai has alleged that 25-year-old Mumbai slam poet Shamir Reubin, who is a big name in the city, had made sexual advances towards women who were under 18.
The victim in her post, "It was through ask.fm that I came into contact with Shamir Reuben. He approached me with a simple, sweet message, and we exchanged numbers. This was someone that was looked up to by everyone on the site, including me. Which is why I was extremely confused when he attempted to initiate sexting. I was far too naive to realise what was going on, however I was extremely uncomfortable so I played it off and managed to dodge the conversation," she wrote in her Facebook post.
Following this, a number of poets from the city came out and called Reuben for his sexting of minors.
Reuben, the creative head of Kommune, an art/live performance collective based out of Mumbai, has in a lengthy Facebook post, 'apologised' for his behaviour, claiming that his messages or actions 'would cause them (the victims) hurt and sincerely hoped that 'I can be forgiven by all those that I may have inadvertently wronged.'
"Several things said are an incorrect portrayal of past events during 2013 - 2016, and the messages shared form part of longer conversations. The women to whom I sent messages were my friends, most of who I knew over months and even years, and messages between friends when read out of context often portray an incorrect picture of the true nature of events. These messages, when viewed today, are indeed inappropriate but were never intended to cause harm to any woman. I wish... and all the women who have spoken-up, well and I respect them for raising this important issue. Violence of any form against women should not be tolerated. But, I have not and never intended to harm or harass them in any way." he added.
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Meanwhile, Kommune in a Facebook post, announced that they had suspended Reuben. "Kommune recognises that posts have been shared about Shamir Reuben’s past conduct with certain individuals. We acknowledge and respect the individuals who are speaking up about these issues. The allegations made are of serious concern to us, and constitutes unacceptable behaviour by any of our personnel. Pending enquiry into these allegations, Shamir’s role at Kommune will remain suspended," the post read.
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