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Pune techie murder: Infosys may deploy women guards, panic buttons for security
Software giant Infosys is reviewing security measures across its campuses and might deploy rapid response teams and women guards, the company said on Friday as it battled allegations of lapses after the murder of a 23-year-old techie
Software giant Infosys is reviewing security measures across its campuses and might deploy rapid response teams and women guards, the company said on Friday as it battled allegations of lapses after the murder of a 23-year-old techie.
Rasila Raju OP, a system engineer, was allegedly strangulated by a security guard near her workstation on the ninth floor of company’s Hinjewadi campus near Pune. Police later arrested the guard, Bhaben Saikia from Assam, over the crime.
The company, with nearly 20 lakh employees, operates in 50 countries and has 85 sales and marketing offices and 114 development centres.
“At Infosys, we have always been focused and committed to the safety of our employees. The unfortunate incident on January 29, however, is a reminder that nothing can be taken for granted and no security measure is fool proof,” the company said in a statement.
The company said it is considering additional security measures on all its campuses such as female guards at the campus and “a relook at rosters, especially where single team members are required”.
The techie was reportedly alone when she was killed by the guard following an argument.
“We are trying to ensure that no employee works alone on a shift. In unavoidable situations, we are looking at additional security (including female security guards) being deployed, as well as increasing the frequency of floor walks by security personnel,” Infosys said.
The software giant said increase in deployment of panic buttons across buildings as well as rapid response teams to take immediate action were some of the other options being considered.
“We are immediately carrying out a complete review of our security procedures by an expert third party consultant. We are also collaborating with local police across our development centres and seeking their advice on additional security measures that we can implement,” it said.
Following the murder, Pune commissioner of police Rashmi Shukla wrote to Infosys an seeking explanation about the “security lapse” at its campus.
“Why did Infosys not depute a female security staff when they knew that women engineer work alone on weekend. Infosys should also explain that why it called Rasila in the evening shift when there was no one during that period in her section,” Shukla’s letter said.
