The frightened employees, who spoke on the condition that their identities be protected, said that some of them have had to privately approach chartered accountants to file their income tax returns (ITRs) after securing Form 16, but often after a delay of at least eight to nine months.
“I reached out to our (WeHub) company’s CA, who threatened to file false police cases against me, using the company’s clout, for merely following up with him regarding my PF,” a former employee revealed.
According to inside sources, salaries of WeHub employees don’t come directly into their accounts from either the industries and commerce (I&C) or information technology (IT) departments of the state government, but rather through a third-party firm called Globus IT Solutions, which would deduct their TDS and PF, and then refuse to give them any answer regarding the deposits.
“Repeated queries to Deepthi Ravula, CEO of WeHub, and Jayesh Ranjan, Principal Secretary of I&C and IT departments, and various emails were all in vain. Ms Ravula maintained that she had no clue,” an employee confided to Deccan Chronicle.
The employee added that he was “forced to leave the organisation” within just a few months of joining because he called attention to the “rampant financial embezzlements” in the organisation.
Another allegation from other current employees was that WeHub had no regular statutory or internal audits being conducted whatsoever.
“Most payments made by the leadership, particularly Ms Ravula, were over PhonePe and PayTM,” an employee said.
When a project with the German International Development Cooperation — Green Innovation Center Project (GIZ) — revealed mismanagement of funds, an audit was conducted that discovered several gaps in claiming funds of up to Rs 2 crore. “We were made to create fake bills to cover that up,” another employee shared.
Employees also accused the leadership of specifically choosing to welcome and support projects by the urban rich over rural and tribal clients. “Even a project for tribal welfare with 75 files after months of groundwork was almost completed and approved, where the state subsidiary would bear the cost but after a final meeting, they would cancel it. It was told to me that they would convince higher officials to not release funds for these projects. They would never explain why such a decision was made,” a senior employee said.
Employees also said that what started as a seven-member team was currently a 32-employee organisation without proper resolutions being passed in board meetings and without a single person in the Human Resource department, or even a concrete HR policy.
“The average resignation/sacking rate at WeHub is at five per month, with a total of 12 people having moved on from the organisation in the past two months alone,” a third employee shared.
Another source said that the CAG office from Lakdikapul continued to make calls and send notices to the company requesting internal audits, but in vain. Multiple RTIs were filed but no reply was properly ever given.
Despite being an organisation that claimed to work for the welfare of women, it shockingly had no POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) policy in place, despite the Act mandating that every organisation define their sexual harassment policies, prevention systems, procedures and service rules for its employees, revealed employees.
A senior employee said that not a single person in the leadership has even the slightest bit of entrepreneurial experience. “Nobody knows on what basis any of them were hired, rather those with experience and knowledge were snubbed to the point of at least two good resources moving on to now working within two separate innovation cells in Bengaluru,” the employee told Deccan Chronicle.
Similar allegations were made by employees of TSIC, which also doesn’t have a POSH policy in place, despite about 60 per cent of their staffers being women.
“When we advised Shanti Thoutam to form one, she said it wasn’t needed,” a male employee said.
Despite the organisation coming into existence in 2019, it wasn’t recognised until 2021. It did not have any bank account until then, another source shared. “We have no idea how and from where funds were sent and to whom, as there were no audits,” a source said.
People from both organisations were fired without exit interviews, over emails, with no warnings or notice periods. “My laptop was confiscated immediately and my access card was deactivated before I could realise what was happening. There was no HR involved either in the hiring or firing process and no severance pay either. Smaller start-ups have better management. People were promoted over WhatsApp texts with no emails or even contracts drafted or renewed. People with no knowledge in domains were selected for posts of huge significance,” another former employee of TSIC said.
Other serious allegations of WeHub include current next-in-line leadership implying to a young woman entrepreneur that she can’t reach media directly to tell her story or promote her innovation, ideas or product, rather, an intermediary would do it for them upon a payment of Rs 1 lakh.
“Even promises of loans were being made to only those entrepreneurs who would agree to give these people a sizeable share of profits. Sometimes, even if they weren’t making profits,” another employee of WeHub said.
Deepthi Ravula and Shanta Thoutam did not respond to multiple attempts made by Deccan Chronicle to get their versions of the allegations. Thoutam resigned recently.
