AIB announces the departure of Gursimran Khamba, Tanmay Bhat is no longer CEO, all his staff fired | TV

The AIB comedy collective issued a statement Wednesday in which it informed its fans of the progress of investigations into charges against co-founders Gursimran Khamba and Tanmay Bhat. . The statement was shared by all members of the group, with the exception of Khamba.

Khamba has withdrawn from the ongoing investigation into charges of badual harbadment brought against him by a former partner, thereby losing his connection with AIB. Bhat was removed from his position as CEO, although the temporary ban imposed on him was lifted. Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya stay on board to run the business.

The statement also reveals that the group had to release all its staff and offices in Mumbai as a result of the allegations. Khamba had been accused of badual harbadment by a former partner – which he denied – and Bhat had been accused of turning a blind eye to allegations of badual harbadment against him. former AIB employee, Utsav Chakraborty. Tanmay admitted later that he knew about the allegations but had not done enough. "I should have ended the links then, and I did not do it, it's my fault. I am really sorry. I should have done more, "said Bhat.

Controversy has led sponsors and collaborators to sever all ties with AIB, which has completely halted incomes.

Several prominent figures in the industry of cinema and media were accused of badual harbadment during the Indian #MeToo movement, which swept the country in 2018.

Here is the statement in its entirety:

The months we spent have have been long at AIB, but before we get to the updates, we would just like to thank everyone who contacted us.Although we may not have been able to answer everyone, please know that we We are immensely grateful

After the events of the beginning of October, things have changed rapidly: almost all our partners have frozen their future badociations, while others have withdrawn immediately from active projects, all of which greatly affected revenues.

We have always boasted of being a wholly independent and owned by a creator. Thanks to this independence, we were free to choose our own destiny and define our own content standards. However, the other side of the coin is that when commercial activity was reduced to zero, the lack of cash flow made it impossible for us as owners. keep costs out.

Let's be clear, we were not imprudent or random or lost with our money. In recent years, we have invested a large part of our profits – including those of our personal projects – in building the content house of our dreams. But in the absence of increasing revenues and operating costs, we had to make difficult but unfortunately permanent decisions.

We had to leave our office space and our entire team to spend the night. Production, creation, administration, all that. It was particularly difficult not only to make people laugh with us, but also to say goodbye to some of the greatest minds in the world, people with whom we had built dreams for many years. For us, a small point of pride is that, thanks to the work they did at AIB, none of them had trouble finding another job. However, to this end, the AIB YouTube channel is virtually dead for the foreseeable future – there will be no new sketches so soon. It's zero, but that's what it is. If and when we decide to broadcast other content on the channel (for example, stand-up video clips). You will be the first to know.

We would also like to say that at AIB we have put in place a system of internal control and anti-harbadment from the beginning. However, we recognize that workplace culture may not be perfect and in simple terms we need to be better. To that end, we maintain that Tanmay Bhat's judgment regarding Utsav Chakraborty was flagrant. As a result, even though Tanmay Bhat's suspension was lifted. he will no longer hold the position of CEO.

With regard to Gursimran Khamba, an External Committee (EC) was appointed to review the allegations against him in October. Composed of two experienced members – a senior partner of a law firm and a diversity consultant – the EC was mandated to conduct a fair inquiry into the matter. As required in such cases, the procedure remains confidential.

However, during the investigation, we learned that Gursimran Khamba had stepped out of the process, citing procedural issues. The EC was not able to conclude the investigation because of its withdrawal. In these circumstances, Gursimran Khamba will no longer participate in AIB's operations. and will work independently of us.

Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya will continue to manage the remaining affairs of AIB, but will also pursue solo interests in the near future.

We may not have a complete roadmap yet, but we are certain of one thing: we never want to stop entertaining ourselves. Making people laugh was the great privilege of our lives and we hope to continue doing so. Whatever the new form that the future holds for us. Once again, thank you for letting us enter your world. It was an honor.

"We are following closely the series of events on social media around the charges against AIB and our co-founder and general manager, Tanmay Bhat. We can not ignore the role of Tanmay and, in light of this, he will move away from his badociation with AIB until further notice. This implies that Tanmay will not be involved in the daily operation of the AIB or any other way, "AIB said in a statement in October.