Dead BPO staffer’s kin allege murder, cover-up

Visakhapatnam: The suspicious death of a BPO professional that was claimed to be a suicide by the  management, has sparked outrage in the city with relatives and the family of the deceased alleging that it was murder.

BPO staffer S. Umamaheswara Rao, 26, was found dead on Saturday night under mysterious circumstances at the World Network Service, a business process management software branch of IBM.

He was found lying on the ground and was shifted to a private hospital, where he was declared brought dead. WNS authorities informed Rao’s parents that their son  had committed suicide by jumping from the terrace of the building.

But suspicion was aroused when the management reportedly gave different versions about the death.

Parents and friends of Umamaheswara Rao on Monday staged a protest in front of WNS and demanded that  the police arrest those responsible for the  death.

“Our son was killed by someone in the company and the management is trying to wash their hands off by claiming that our son has committed suicide. If he had jumped from the terrace his head would have been smashed, but he had only a broken right hand and a few fractured  ribs,” said Rao’s parents S. Veeru Naidu and S. Lakshmi.

They also questioned why someone who was happy with his life would take the extreme step. The  relatives said that the management had agreed to pay company benefits to the deceased’s family without clarifying the circumstances that led to the death.

When contacted, police said they are investigating the case from all angles and were awaiting the post-mortem report. Police said  it had registered a case under Section 174 of CrPC (suspicious death) and were questioning his colleagues  and examining CCTV footage.

“If we get concrete information, we will take steps against those responsible for Rao’s death,”  they said.

The body was handed over to relatives after post mortem on Monday.