The murder of 25-year-old Rasila at the Infosys campus in Pune has thrown light on the vulnerability of women corporate employees. Infosys claims they never compromise on security measures, so why was Rasila in the office at 2 pm on a Sunday, all alone on a sprawling, deserted campus even after she had complained about the security guard's advances? Supriya Kumaraswamy and Ranjani Madhavan talk to industry heads and experts about the importance of holding companies responsible if we hope to prevent tragedies like these in the future
Hold private agencies liable for guards : Ratna Prabha, IAS Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Karnataka
The personal character of every security guard hired must be checked. Many of them come from different parts of the country seeking employment and one doesn’t really know their background or understand their mindset. The agencies that supply these guards need to be held responsible first. The contract they sign with a company should include a clause that deals with repurcussions in case of misbehaviour. In case of an untoward incident like the one at Infosys Pune, the private security agency should be booked by the police too. When everybody concerned is held responsible, employers will have reason to be extra-cautious when they recruit guards.
As for the guards themselves, providing counselling services is imperative. They come from far away in the hope of earning a living and we have no way of knowing their outlook on the world. This can be set right through counselling sessions. The guards should also be employed on a rotational basis, so that a single guard does not remain in one place for too long.
Women employees should be encouraged to complain if their instincts warn them against misbehaviour. There should also be room for these complaints to be heard. In this way, we can pre-empt and stop tragic incidents like these before they occur.
Policies that ensure safety in numbers are the solution: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Limited
The murder of Rasila, although tragic, is abnormal and should be seen as a stray incident. The incident took place despite the presence of CCTVs and a security guard on duty. This should be seen as not just a women’s issue, however, but encompass employee safety in its entirety.
There is such a thing as safety in numbers. The company can only do so much to protect its employees; the same applies to police and citizens.
The security guard in question was unhinged and unpredictable, even though his previous track record showed no criminal activity.
We must understand that even lapses and failures can take place notwithstanding the strenuous security measures companies take. The only way to tackle this is to focus on safety in numbers. Nobody should have to work on their own at the office on a holiday, when there are no other employees present. This could have happened to a male employee as well. Untoward incidents need not be limited to violent criminal activity like murder – a person working alone in the office on a Sunday could have an accident or a bout of illness. What happens then? Policies that ensure safety in numbers are the way forward now, apart from existing security measures.
Violence against women will happen without foolproof guidelines and measures: P E Usha, Project Director, Kerala Mahila Samakhya Society (KMSS)
I was shocked to learn that a young woman was murdered by a security guard at the Infosys campus in Pune. She had requested a transfer from Pune to Bengaluru, which clearly indicates all was not well at the office in which she had been placed.
She was called in to work on a Sunday, which is incredible. Imagine a young woman having to work by herself on such a sprawling, desolate campus! The company will get away with it by saying that its security services are outsourced and that the guard who assaulted her was not, technically speaking, an Infosys employee.
Violence against women will continue to take place in the absence of foolproof guidelines and measures to protect their rights. The companies should set strict rules with regard working hours and make sure their employees are safe at all times on campus. Women should also be given good, reliable facilities to commute to and from work.
It is difficult for girls to live alone in cities and work in places that are not safe. The companies also should ensure that the security staff’s background is checked properly.
CCTVs should be monitored by external agency: Pramila Nesargi, Lawyer and Women's Rights activist
Indira Gandhi was shot by her security guard. This danger exists everywhere, across companies and sectors. I have had women clients complain about sexual harassment in almost every major corporate house in the city. Many of these women are young and gullible, often hired as trainees. Their mentors ask for sexual favours in return for positive feedback. In some cases, they don’t issue relieving letters, ensuring that the woman can’t work anywhere else either. These women are helpless, for they have families to support and are sometimes left with no choice but to oblige their mentors and superiors. CCTV footage, of course, can be used to obtain evidence in such cases, as long as there is a central monitoring system. This system can even be supervised by the police or a third-party establishment, for CCTV footage is public domain information when it is used in surveillance. Constant monitoring could have led to immediate intervention.
Make employees aware of their rights and responsibilities: Kanti Joshi, Convener of Support against Sexual Harassment at Workplace (SASHA)
Sexual harassment at the workplace is a problem with many aspects. First, companies need to conduct mandatory awareness sessions for those hired on contract; these are only done for permanent employees at the moment. These sessions must be in a language they understand. Second, companies must insert specific clauses by which the contract employee must abide when agreements are made with vendors.
The focus must be on spreading awareness on the rights and responsibilities of employees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at the Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act 2013. Employees must be made aware of their rights so they speak up when such scenarios crop up, for many women tend to tolerate or ignore harassment for extended periods of time. They need reassurance that speaking up is imperative even if their complaint is against a co-worker or senior. As per Section 12 of the SHWW (PPR) Act 2013, once a complaint is raised, the Internal Committee is obligated to recommend Interim Relief in the form of paid leave of a transfer. This is to ensure that there is no work interaction between the two parties concerned. In this way, the victim doesn’t have to worry about the senior creating a hostile work environment or retaliating in any way. This is the law! Overall, awareness is the only solution if we hope to prevent such tragedies.
A statement issued by Infosys says employees are encouraged to leave the campus by 8 pm on weekdays. Why then was this woman employee called in to the office at 2 pm on a Sunday? Their statement also talks of extensive CCTV coverage across campuses – “We continuously assess the need to add more surveillance as we grow in space and size.” What is unclear in this case is if CCTVs on campus were actually in operation that day, on the Pune campus. Infosys also claims mandatory background checks on employees. If this is the case, what did the check on this guard reveal when he was hired?
Who’s to blame for Rasila’s untimely death?
About 5.7 million Indians are employed by the IT industry, with women comprising about half this number. Many are asked to do overnight shifts, working on largely deserted campuses at all hours of day and night and depending on office cabs to take them home. Rape and murder at the hands of security guards and cab drivers (these services are generally outsourced to private agencies) aren’t common, but they certainly aren’t unheard of either.
Infosys’ claim that the most stringent security measures are in place at all times across its campuses simply doesn’t hold water, for Rasila - cremated on Tuesday in her home town near Kozhikode - who was called in to work on a Sunday, had already complained about the lewd behaviour of the guard who ultimately brought about her violent, untimely death. Why didn’t the company pay heed to her discomfort? Why was she called in to the office on a holiday and left alone on the sprawling, deserted campus?
A tragedy of this nature in any other part of the world would have resulted in a multi-million dollar lawsuit, so why isn’t India’s leading IT company being held responsible for the murder of a young woman by the very person appointed to protect her?
