By Gossip Columnist: Malini N. Malhotra
For the past few days there have been various reports published regarding T-Fare's Sr. Research Reporter, Natasha Rai. While neither T-Fare or Natasha have made any official statements, some reports claim that Natasha has been fired while others state that she was forced to resign amidst controversy of her involvement with convicted felon Richa Koppikar.
The gloves are off for the staff of T-Fare. Creator Dr. Kanti Raj said he felt "deeply betrayed" by Natasha Rai's shocking resignation and her sudden exit from T-Fare. Natasha's exit was rumored for months, intensifying last Tuesday when reports on 'Trolly Gossip' claimed that she was involved in identity theft and various other scams along with her 'secret best friend' Richa Koppikar. Richa is currently serving time in Nepal for her role in various scams.
Last Tuesday, 'Trolly Gossip' published pictures of Natasha and Richa eating, drinking and partying with what appeared to be several other Nepali men based in Vancouver, BC. When asked to explain these reports and proof of her involvement with Richa, Natasha declied to comment.
Either way, the "help wanted" sign is up again at T-Fare, just a few weeks after it was announced that Malati Chopra had been vindicated and was back as Crime Reporter. Still, Kanti Raj said he was taken by complete surprise when Natasha announced her departure last Wednesday. "I love Natasha like my own sister and I was trying to do everything I possibly could - up until this morning when I was betrayed - to protect her from the nasty rumors on Trolly Gossip," Kanti told us. Kanti also said he wasn't aware until he got an emailed resignation from Natasha.
Natasha Rai, one of the original founders when T-Fare started last year, is also facing a whirlwind of accusations from ex-fans on the Trolly Gossip tabloid. Kanti said his fellow T-Fare founder Arun Bhansali and he had deleted all personal attacks against Natasha on T-Fare and decided to publish an article rediculing the 'fake reports on Trolly Gossip.' However, after the betrayal from Natasha on Wednesday, they decided to respect her decision and not get involved. "We tried to talk her out of it," Arun said, "and we tried to give Natasha time to redeem herself from the rediculous gossips in the eyes of the readers, but after literally begging her for weeks, we finally gave up."
Saagar Malhotra's hiring announcement last week had also led to widespread speculation over whether Saagar was hired to replace Natasha since the tabloids speculated that they could not co-exist on T-Fare. However, Arun maintains that "Saagar was invited to join our staff several weeks before Natasha's resignation in order to tap into a market segment. His hiring had nothing to do with the resignation of Natasha." Like Bhansali and Kanti Raj, T-Fare's Crime Reporter Malati Chopra rubbished "baseless rumours that Natasha is involved with Richa," and adds that "we are doing our best to bring her back - you can quote me on that!"
As the newest reporter for T-Fare, I am not sure what the future holds but I'm absolutely sure who holds the future of T-Fare. Kanti, Arun, Malati, Saagar and myself remain loyal to T-Fare and without our majority approval, there may be several ways to get out, but there is definitely no way to come back in!
