Pune: The swift police action in apprehending the prime suspect notwithstanding, a number of serious questions has been raised in the aftermath of the murder of young software engineer Rasila Raju O.P., which has brought the issue of workplace safety of women in Pune into sharp focus.
Commissioner of Police Rashmi Shukla said she will be writing to the IT major seeking an explanation for the events that led to the tragedy.
“The incident has once again brought to the fore the issue of workplace security arrangements in general, and for women in particular. There is this question why the girl was working alone on that floor on a Sunday. Why was no other employee asked to work with her?” said Ms. Shukla. “Companies seriously need to conduct more awareness programmes about safety measures they have in place and women could preferably be asked to work in pairs.”
Infosys issued a statement soon after the incident. It said the firm has a common safety helpline across their campuses in the country, which is manned round-the-clock. The company also has an Infosys emergency app and their office premises are always monitored by security guards.
The deceased, who hailed from Payimbra village in Kozhikode, Kerala, had been working with the company since 2015. The prime suspect, a 26-year-old from Assam identified as Bhaben Saikiya, worked as a security guard and was nabbed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in the early hours of Monday.
