Pune techie’s murder: Infosys to pay Rs 1 crore compensation to victim’s family

Mangalore Today News Network

Feb 01, 2017: Infosys on Tuesday agreed to pay Rs one crore as ex gratia to the family of Rasila Raju OP and an employment to the next of her kin, a day after her father blamed the software giant for “lapse in security” that led to her murder.

 

Infosys in its letter, signed by HR representative Santhosh Nair, said, “On behalf of Infosys, we agree to pay the nominee of deceased employee Ms OP Rasila an amount of INR One crore as ex-gratia.” Hindustan Times is in possession of the letter, which states that statutory payments of provident fund and gratuity shall be paid according to the company’s policy.

The letter also doubles up an agreement and has the signatures of Rasila’s father, Raju, and other members of local Malayalee community.

Earlier in the day, in separate statement to media, Infosys said it was considering financial assistance to victim’s family.

“Towards ensuring financial stability for the family, Infosys takes into account the statutory payments to be made as per company policy. The company also considers ex-gratia payments based on the circumstances. Infosys also endeavors to make every effort at a suitable employment opportunity for the next of kin who qualify its recruitment criteria,” it said.

Rasila, a systems engineer was found murdered at her workstation in the Hinjewadi IT Park near Pune late on Sunday evening. A security guard, Bhaben Saikia, had allegedly strangled with a computer at her workplace. The suspect was arrested from Mumbai a day later.

The security guard has told Pune Police he tried to commit suicide after strangling Rasila but changed his mind at the last minute. But officials dismissed his statement, saying the guard was trying to create sympathy for himself and pointed to signs that he had planned the murder in advance.

Rasila was buried in her home town of Kozhikode on Tuesday.

Her murder was the second killing of a woman techie in Pune in the last two months. In December, Antara Das, 23-year-old techie from Kolkata working with Capgemini near Pune, was stabbed to death while returning from work late in the evening.

The latest murder sent shockwaves across the IT sector with many questioning whether security employees hired for software parks are vetted before appointment.