Ousted RadiumOne CEO Gurbaksh Chahal has written an open letter to the board that fired him, following an uproar on social media.
The ad-startup executive was accused of hitting his girlfriend 117 times in a span of less than a half hour last August. The former CEO maintains that the allegations were false and his board encouraged him to plead to a misdemeanor rather than fight a lengthy trial to exonerate him.
"What did I do to deserve this, when all I've ever done is to put the interests of you and the company ahead of my own?" Chahal wrote in the letter first sent to CNNMoney. "I thought I could count on your support as a board, as executives, and as a team and you abandoned me when I most needed your support."
Chahal claims that the board was "well aware" of his legal trouble since August, and they knew the allegations "were completely false." He says he was "going through hell, both professionally and personally" and felt betrayed after the board bowed to the social media storm that ensued once the allegations became widely circulated.
Read Gurbaksh Chahal's open letter to the board
"I know you have your individual careers in mind, but I am shocked and saddened at how you responded to social media," he wrote. "You supported me, in person and in writing, and you made it clear that you had every intention of standing by me until justice prevailed."
Chahal also noted that he offered to resign in August 2013 but the board encouraged him to stay on.
As a result, Chahal said he plans to sue the company's board for wrongful termination, according to a letter obtained by CNNMoney.
Related: Board backed RadiumOne CEO days before firing him
Chahal has obtained a laywer and says the suit is "imminent."
"You have left me with no other options but to seek legal recourse," he writes. "You will now have to face severe legal consequences individually for this in the court of law."
In a statement to CNNMoney, the company said the complaint had no merit. "Gurbaksh Chahal's own actions impaired his ability to lead RadiumOne as CEO and gave the board no choice but to terminate his employment and name a new CEO," they said.
