WNS Employee Murder: NCW Forms Fact-Finding Committee to Investigate Brutal Workplace Violence in Pune

New Delhi/Pune, 10th January 2025: The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo moto cognizance of a series of disturbing incidents, including a recent case in Pune, where a woman working in a BPO company (WNS in Viman Nagar) was tragically hacked to death by her colleague over a money dispute.

The crime took place in the parking lot of the company, and despite the presence of several onlookers, none intervened to stop the attack, highlighting the growing phenomenon of the bystander effect. In response to this shocking incident, the Chairperson of the National Commission for Women, Vijaya Rahatkar, has decided to constitute a Fact Finding Committee to thoroughly investigate the matter and recommend necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such crimes.

The Fact Finding Committee will include:
Meenakshi Negi, Member Secretary, National Commission for Women.
Dr. B.K. Sinha, Former Director General of Police, Haryana.
R. Sreelekha, Former Director General of Police, Kerala.

The Committee will be assisted by Manmohan Verma, Law Officer at the National Commission for Women. The terms of reference for the Committee include:

1. The Committee shall look into the case in accordance with the procedure laid down under Section10 (1) read with section10 (4) of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, and shall look into the overall safety and security of women working in IT Companies, BPO, Call Centers, ITES and other Tech Companies across the Country.

2. The Committee shall look into the gaps/lapses leading to occurrence of such incidence and shall recommend measures to be taken by the Companies to ensure safety and security of their female employees.

3. The Committee shall take into account the measures to address the bystander apathy and to sensitize the on-lookers to extend their help to the victims of such brutal crime, and recommend remedial measures for preventing recurrence of such incidence after interaction with all the concerned authorities as deemed fit.

4. The Committee shall meet at such time and place, as considered appropriate/ necessary.

5. The Committee shall look into institutional linkages between private companies and law enforcement agencies for enabling a faster response system.

6. The Committee shall look into setting up a process of regular monitoring of security concerns of women employees.

The Committee will submit its findings and recommendations within 10 working days.