Comedy collective AIB announced on Wednesday that they will now be continuing their operations, but stated that they would not be making new sketches for their YouTube channel anytime soon.
In a statement on their social media profiles, the company said that Tanmay Bhat has been reinstated into the company, but he will no longer be the CEO.
“We'd also like to state that we at AIB have had an IC and anti-harassment system in place from the start. However, we recognise that the culture at work may not have been perfect and simply put, we need to be better. To that end, we maintain that Tanmay Bhat's lapse of judgement regarding Utsav Chakraborty was egregious. As a result, even though Tanmay Bhat's suspension has been lifted, he will no longer hold the position of CEO,” the statement said.
Gursimran Khamba, on the other hand, will no longer be associated with AIB, as he had withdrawn from the proceedings of the External Committee which was appointed for a fair investigation into allegations of sexual harassment against him.
Khamba stepped away from the investigation citing issues with the procedure. The company has stated that Khamba will not be involved with the operations. .
Rohan Joshi and Ashish Shakya will be managing the collective while continuing to pursue their independent work. While they have claimed that future plans are unclear, the statement declares that AIB will continue to work in the entertainment field.
All India Bakchod ceased operations in October last year during the Me Too movement, when Khamba was accused of sexual misconduct and Tanmay of not taking action after being aware of sexual harassment allegations against another comedian.
It began after comedian Utsav Chakraborty had been accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women during the Me Too movement. It later came to light that Tanmay had knowledge of the accusations, and a woman who Utsav had harassed had confided in Tanmay.
“Tanmay Bhat received specific, detailed allegations about him in a private and personal conversation. Tanmay confronted Utsav in a personal capacity - which led to Utsav calling the victim, leading to further harassment,” a statement by AIB had then said.
Gursimran Khamba stepped away from AIB after a survivor, who wished to remain anonymous, accused him of sexually harassing her in 2015 and 2016. On two separate occasions, he allegedly made unwelcome advances and she had to forcefully push him away. She said that later he started to call her when intoxicated, threatened to ruin friendships, and emotionally blackmailed and emotionally abused for almost five months.