Pune City Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar on Wednesday led a seminar with IT professionals in Magarpatta, organised by Deputy Commissioner of Police Rajkumar Shinde. The event, attended by over 1,000 IT employees, directors, engineers and students, focussed on workplace challenges, women's safety, cyber security and traffic issues in Magarpatta. This comes only a few days after a 28-year-old woman accountant working for a multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) firm in Yerawada was murdered by her male colleague with a sharp weapon in the company parking lot.
Speaking to the media, the Commissioner said, "To prevent assault incidents against employees, major steps will be taken. Police stations, company HR heads and security heads of IT companies should conduct weekly meetings with employees and workers to learn about their psychological condition and mental health. Background verification of employees and drivers should be done. Implementation of signboards displaying all police helpline numbers for women's safety is necessary."
Kumar added that every establishment with 10 or more women employees shall mandatorily constitute an internal committee to address issues related to women's safety. The committee shall comprise representatives from management, women employees and a designated officer for women's safety, he said. "Each company shall conduct regular interaction sessions with women employees to assess their concerns and fears, particularly regarding late-night travel. Mechanisms shall be established to address individual concerns and provide necessary support," he said. "Companies shall conduct periodic meetings with female staff to address issues of workplace harassment and provide a platform for reporting and redressal of grievances. Psychological assessment of employees should be conducted by trained staff to check the mental health of the employees," he added.
Instructing the police officers, the CP said, "All senior police inspectors shall conduct regular security audits of establishments with significant female employees. Audits shall assess security measures (lighting, CCTV coverage, access control), emergency response protocols, and awareness programmes for employees. WhatsApp groups should be created at the police station level of HR heads and security heads of such establishments along with senior PIs and chowky incharges."
About the selling of tobacco products in the open, he said, "Youth need to have morals and ensure they follow legal ethics. Drinking in open spaces is a crime. Hadapsar police must enforce the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), ensuring tobacco-free school premises. Moreover, we request the residents to participate in making our city drug-free and inform them about such illegal activities in their area to the local police. We will ensure their safety and identity will not be revealed which is our responsibility." Kumar further stressed that youngsters must understand what to post and what not to post on social media. "People need to draw a 'Laxman Rekha'. Every technology has pros and cons," he said.
Zone 5 residents (Hadapsar, Mundhwa, Wanawadi, Kondhwa and Bibwewadi) shared a list of issues they are facing, including traffic congestion, encroachment, street harassment, etc. Regarding this, Kumar instantly instructed the junior officers to take care of these issues. Moreover, he warned that if any shop is found selling gutka and other banned narcotics within 100m of any school and other government premises, the shop will be sealed for six months. "We will implement QR-based police patrolling. Pune police will take effective, proactive and constructive action in partnership with citizens," he concluded.
