India, May 5 -- A former employee of a Gurgaon-based edtech platform took to LinkedIn on Friday to claim he was made to climb stairs as punishment for not meeting sales targets. Piyush Kumar, 24, said he resigned from Hike Education last month over "repeated mental harassment, defamation, and professional humiliation." He accused company manager Ruchi Parashar of "relentless mental harassment," also sharing a video that shows him climbing a staircase while holding his ears.

However, Hike Education CEO Rahul Sharma has denied these allegations in a statement to HT.com, claiming that Kumar has orchestrated a smear campaign against the company after a failed bid to extort Rs.3.6 lakhs. Sharma, who is married to Ruchi Parashar, also said tha...