Woman alleges harassment at work, kills self

“Save working women (from) humiliation,” Sonia, a 26-year-old software programmer, urged. She then killed herself.

MJ Sonia was found hanging from a ceiling fan in her house at Vaishali Circle in Jayanagar 9th block on Friday evening, about 36 hours after she had died, the police said.

A six-page suicide note addressed to many including the media and police, said she was taking the extreme step due to harassment at workplace. She was staying here alone.

Sonia, a native of Mysore, was working with Nokia India Private Limited, located on the  Marathahalli Main Road in the city, for the past two years. Her suicide note had named two managers at work, Tejas and Sachin, alleging them of harassment.

C Nagaraj, ACP (Mico Layout sub-division), said a case of suicide was registered and the two men were being interrogated. "We will check and take action accordingly. As of now it is a case of abetment and harassment. We have booked them under Section 306 of the Indian Penal Code ," he said.

The police were also investigating possible sexual harassment.

Sonia’s father, Jagadish Mysore, said she had complained of several instances of harassment by her colleagues.

“She did bring this issue to the notice of the HR at Nokia a week ago, and they gave her an oral assurance to tackle this problem," Mysore, who was looking for a groom for his daughter, said.

Poonam Kaul, director of Nokia Corporate Communication, refuted that Sonia had complained to the telecom handset manufacturer.

“We did take a look at the suicide note and there are many issues revolving around this. We believe that no such problems existed at the work place. However, we have requested the two managers to co-operate with any kind of investigations," she said.

ACP Nagaraj said they were verifying whether Sonia had complained to Nokia and also the reason for no action being taken against the accused.

Meanwhile, Dr M J Thomas, consultant psychiatrist at the Sagar Apollo Hospital, said, harassment or sexual harassment has different definitions based on an organisation, culture and law.

“In this case, if Sonia was expressing about harassment, the organisation might not feel that it was harassment," he added

Sonia’s body was found after her father and Venkataraman, another Nokia employee and her friend, grew suspicious and informed the police.

Venkataraman, a native of Chennai, said he visited Sonia’s house on Friday morning since she could not be reached on her mobile phone since noon the previous day. He found the door locked and alerted her father, a BSNL employee in Mysore, who came to Bangalore.

“The police had to break open the door,” he said. The body was found in a partially decomposed state. Venkataraman, who joined Nokia four months ago, alleged the accused used to sideline Sonia at work. He also said she was suffering from depression for the last couple of months, due to harassment at the work place.

In her note to parents, she accused the managers of pressurising her to quit the job. “I have always performed well, yet, they would say that my performance was bad. When I asked them they said that I did not entertain guys in the team. I am unable to bear the torture.”

The suicide note also said she wanted the software industry employees, who were suffering to get justice.

“I need a rule to be made for hurting people, against managers who torture. Please arrest them… save working women (sic) humiliation…Help working women from exploitation,'' Sonia said in the note addressing the media and police.

A statement issued by Peter Jacob, on Saturday mourned the death of Sonia. “We are in touch with her family and are extending all possible support to them. We will provide all possible help to police officials to ensure the investigation is carried on smoothly.”

Dr Thomas added a case of harassment totally depends on individual cases and it may or may not lead to suicide.

“If it is a real case of harassment, the person will not have a support system, and going through a stress experience will force the person to react. Suicide is the most sought reaction to a stress experience, driven by anxiety of both physiological and emotional nature and depression, he said.”

A handwriting analyst Rafiulla Baig, who saw a part of the suicide note, said the most evident characteristic of Sonia was she was of dual personality and highly confused.

“She's rebellious, does not compromise on her pride and dignity, cannot express herself, physically frustrated, and suspicious about her looks and relationships, sensitive, high stress levels and dejected. At the same time, she is individualistic, creative, artistic, and was one who wants to stand out in the crowd," he added.