BPO security measures come too little, too late

MURDER MOST FOUL: Jyoti Choudhry's brutal rape and murder could have been avoided had some simple precautions been followed.

        

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The rape and brutal murder of 22-year-old BPO employee Jyoti Choudhry has sparked a furore all across the country with anxious parents and angry employees revealing the gaping loopholes in the security systems of most BPOs in the country.

26-year-old Ashwini Mohite who works for a call centre in Pune says that parents are naturally worried and matters are not helped with recent cases like Jyoti Choudhry's.

Saudamini, a parent who lives in Bhopal concurs.

"My daughter is fresh out of college and wants to work with a BPO in Delhi. Though they are promising security, how can I, as a parent, really be sure that my daughter will actually be safe?" she asks. Her query is certainly justified for most girls move from smaller towns to cities to work in these BPOs. They usually have no family in the cities and their room-mates work in BPOs, too.

Some parents, such as Bangalore-based S P Naik, even feel that call centres are unhealthy for Indian society. "Call centres are encouraging the late-night culture in India," he asserts.

Unfortunately, it appears as though security for employees, particularly women employees is not a given for most BPOs, and measures are installed only when a need arises.

Ashwini Mohite agrees, saying, "Earlier, security was not there at the company, at the time I joined in 2004. We did not have guards. But there was an incident which took place after that. Then, our company used to provide guards."

Chetna Moorthy, whose sister Pratibha had been brutally raped and murdered by her call centre cab-driver in Bangalore two years ago is livid at the nonchalance of the authorities.

"I think it is really a shame for the entire nation, for the so-called people who are responsible for law and order in this country, and the IT and BPO companies which have been given the credit for being responsible for the economic growth of this country, that such an incident has been repeated within the span of two years. And I would really like to ask the people concerned - the responsible people who are at the helm of affairs - as to what exactly have they done over these two years to improve security measures? I do not see anything that has happened here," she fumes.

Pratibha's uncle S srinivas is equally angry. "I feel it is utterly disgusting of the country, the company and also the travel agencies, how unmindful they are about these kind of murder and rape cases."