Khalid Bajwa, Patari co-founder, steps down amidst sexual misconduct allegations

Khalid Bajwa, Co-founder and CEO of the popular music streaming app, Patari has stepped down on allegations of harassment and sexual misconduct. The allegations surfaced on social media when two victims took to Twitter to raise their voice against Bajwa.

Just a few hours ago, Patari has officially released a statement through their social media accounts that Bajwa is stepping down from his position with immediate effect. The music streaming company has indicated that investigations were already underway about prior allegations, indicating that the company was aware of their CEO’s misconduct.

Official Statement: pic.twitter.com/BBcqqXdydf

— Patari (@patarimusic) April 11, 2018

The official statement of Patari was released after two came forward on Twitter, sharing screenshots of WhatsApp conversations and text messages of their interaction with Bajwa. One of them, Mehravaar has indicated that she felt uncomfortable in the presence of Bajwa who was twice her age. She indicated that Bajwa coerced young girls to meet him by offering them perks related to the music streaming app. The screenshots of conversation are shared in the gallery below.

After Mehravaar, another victim, Zainab also took to Twitter and shared conversations with Bajwa alleging that he behaved inappropriately with her. She said that she was 17 and Bajwa was 27 when the interactions happened between them. Zainab said that she was vocal about it even then.

TechJuice reached out to Patari for further comments. However, the COO Ahmer Naqvi has said,

“Right now, our official statement is our only comment to refer to as we have indicated that we are carrying out investigations. Patari will inform everyone of whatever further development takes place.”