Infosys employee from Kerala murdered on Pune campus, suspect held in Mumbai

It is the second murder of a female software professional in the city in a month.

The Pune police nabbed the main suspect Bhabin Saikia, security guard at Hinjewadi IT Park premises in Pune, from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in the early hours of Monday.

A 25-year-old software engineer working with Infosys was found strangled to death on the IT major’s campus in Hinjewadi’s IT Park on Sunday. This is the second murder of a woman software professional in the city in a month. In December last year, Antara Das, an employee of Capgemini, was killed outside her office in Talawade.

Police said the prime suspect in the killing of Rasila Raju O.P. was held at Mumbai CST early on Monday. The suspect worked as a security guard at Infosys Pune and has been identified as Bhaben Saikiya, 26, originally hailing from Assam. He was brought to Pune and charged with Rasila’s murder under IPC section 302. He was produced in court and remanded in police custody till February 4. Saikiya’s mobile number was tracked by the police as he made his way to Mumbai to board a Guwahati-bound train.

According to police officers investigating the case, Rasila was from Kozhikode and had been working with Infosys Pune since 2015. They said an altercation between Rasila and the accused over alleged misbehaviour by the latter could possibly have led to the crime. Saikiya worked with a private security firm and was deputed at Infosys six months ago. While a background check at the time had shown no previous criminal record, Rasila had reportedly warned him that she would complain to his superiors about his behaviour.

ACP Vaishali Mane said the body of a woman on the ninth floor of the conference room building was reported by a caller, and teams from Hinjewadi police station reached Infosys around 9 p.m. The victim was found strangulated with a computer cable. Her face, especially the lower part, sustained serious injuries.

Police said the victim was probably murdered between 5 p.m. and 6.30 p.m. on Sunday and the accused was the only one with access to the room where she was working. They said the victim did not work Sundays, but was on a 2 p.m.-11 p.m. shift as she was working on a project. When her supervisor and team in Bangalore could not get in touch with her, they alerted campus security in Pune.

Expressing solidarity with the family of the victim, a statement from Infosys said the company will assist the police in its investigation. Police said the post-mortem had been postponed on the family’s request, who were on their way to Pune from Kerala.