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Tech city tepid to Prathibha’s fate

In spite of a 24-hour text message, calling the BPO employees to join the protest rally for speedy justice, the response was anything but warm on a wintry day.

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BANGALORE: The sensational rape and murder of Prathibha Srikanth Murthy made national headlines. But, a day after, the solidarity protest against the brutal assault on the 28-year-old call centre worker by the cabbie who picked her for work evoked a poor response in the tech city, home to over four lakh geeks.

In spite of a 24-hour text message doing the rounds, calling the BPO employees to join the protest rally for speedy justice, the response was anything but warm on a wintry day.  Some of the protesters, who held placards demanding 'capital punishment' of the rapist, were not even employed in the knowledge sector.

Ironically, two of Prathibha's colleagues at HP Global Soft, who turned up at the venue near the Mahatma Gandhi statue, slipped away after seeing television crews, preferring not to risk being seen on camera, lest they put their jobs at stake.

"It is a shame that not many have joined to protest this dastardly act," Pradeep Kumar, a worker at Vanguard Infotech told DNA.

Sowmya, a call centre aspirant held forth in condemning the incident and sought more protection for female workers in the booming industry. "The poor response reflects the state of the society today. It is I, Myself and Me and there is no place for people and their problems with the young generation," Vimala K S, an activist of the All India Democratic Women's Association (AIDWA) said.

The assailant, Shiva Kumar, who planned the crime, has been remanded to police custody, while the police in a knee jerk action on Friday night conducted a special drive on taxis ferrying BPO employees and booked 277 cases of rash and reckless driving besides collecting a fine of Rs  41,000.

"We are investigating on why the logistics person did not act when he knew that Shiva Kumar had picked the girl, instead of the driver who was designated to pick her up. We are questioning HP officials on this," Bangalore Police Commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh said.

He said a meeting would be held with all IT and BPO firms next week. According to plans, the firms will be directed to install wireless or GPS sets in each vehicle ferrying their employees. The firms have been directed to check antecedents of its suppliers and provide a database of them to the police.

Sources at HP GlobalSoft Ltd, where Prathibha was employed, said that some employees in logistics and security have been placed under suspension, while a team from the global operations of HP in the US would visit India to review the security arrangements.

The multinational IT firm, which employs over 20,000 professionals in India, has put in place new procedures for staff travel and female workers would be escorted by male employees and will be provided with adequate security.

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