A 21-year-old woman software engineer, working in an IT company in Electronic city, narrowly escaped abduction in the hands of a group of men while she was on her way to office last week.
The incident took place on the busy Silk Board junction. The group of men tried to abduct her in their car.
Shocked by the incident, the victim informed her office before being admitted to the hospital for counselling.
The incident has spread a sense of insecurity among female employees, especially those who stay in PGs and live alone in the city.
Though the victim is recuperating in a hospital and no complaint has been filed, the company has issued a circular to its 1,400 plus employees with a set of safety guidelines.
Raja Shanmugam, the Chief People Officer at Happiest Minds Technologies, in his circular said that the company is exploring various means of enhancing the safety and security of the employees within and outside the work environment, including conducting safety awareness sessions, self-defence programs specifically designed as a first response to such situations, identifying and implementing some effective safety app on Mobile phones.
The issues are not limited to women alone. A few months back, one of the Senior Executives of the company was physically assaulted while on a call and his smartphone was snatched from him.
Mr. Shanmugam told The Hindu that the company was working with law enforcement authorities to explore ways of identifying the perpetrators and generally making the roads safer.
“We are waiting for the recovery of the victim so that she can approach the police and file a formal complaint for further action”, Mr. Shanmugam told The Hindu .
The circular also recommended some immediate safety tips for its employees. Some pointers of the circulars are:
*Be more aware of the surroundings when you go about your daily routines as to who else is on the roads – walking behind you, riding behind you, parked on the side.
* Avoid being on long calls or with headsets while walking on roads, especially if they are less crowded, or if it is late evenings.
*If at all possible, have a colleague, friend walk with you – even if it means waiting a bit longer to synch your timings.
* If possible, try to vary your walking routes once in a while – some of these attackers stalk the victim for a while to identify patterns before striking at the most vulnerable moment.
