Pune BPO Murder: NCW Forms Fact-Finding Committee To Investigate Workplace Violence

The National Commission for Women (NCW) has decided to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate a recent case of workplace violence, following the tragic death of a woman employed at a BPO company in Pune, who was hacked to death by her colleague over a money dispute.

According to an official release, "The NCW has taken suo-moto cognisance of a series of disturbing incidents, including a recent case in Pune, where a woman working in a BPO company was tragically hacked to death by her colleague over a money dispute." "The crime took place in the parking lot of the company, and despite the presence of several onlookers, none intervened to stop the attack, highlighting the growing phenomenon of the bystander effect," the release added.

In response to the incident, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Vijaya Rahatkar, decided to constitute a fact-finding committee to thoroughly investigate the matter and recommend necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.

As per the release, the fact-finding committee will include Meenakshi Negi, Member Secretary of the NCW; Dr BK Sinha, Former Director General of Police, Haryana; and R Sreelekha, Former Director General of Police, Kerala.

Manmohan Verma, a Law Officer at the National Commission for Women, will assist the Committee.

The terms of reference for the Committee include looking into the case by the procedure laid down under Section 10 (1) read with Section 10 (4) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990. It will also assess the overall safety and security of women working in IT companies, BPOs, call centres, ITES, and other tech companies across the country.

The committee will look into any gaps or lapses that led to this incident and recommend measures for companies to ensure the safety and security of their female employees.

As per the release, the committee will take into account the measures to address bystander apathy and to sensitise the on-lookers to extend their help to the victims of such brutal crime and recommend remedial measures for preventing the recurrence of such incidents after interaction with all the concerned authorities as deemed fit.

The committee will meet at such time and place, as considered appropriate, and necessary and shall look into institutional linkages between private companies and law enforcement agencies to enable a faster response system.

The committee will also look into setting up a process of regular monitoring of security concerns of women employees and will submit its findings and recommendations within 10 working days.

Earlier on Friday, the NCW condemned the murder of a 28-year-old woman in Pune and directed the authorities to ensure a fair and time-bound investigation.

The incident took place on Tuesday when the woman was attacked with a cleaver by her male colleague allegedly because she borrowed money from him under false pretences.

"The National Commission for Women strongly condemns the brutal murder of a 28-year-old woman in Pune, reportedly attacked with a cleaver by her colleague in a company parking lot, while bystanders failed to intervene," NCW said in a post on X (formerly Twitter).

The NCW sought from the authorities a detailed action taken report, along with a copy of the FIR within two days.