Pune’s BPO-call centres and IT industry are big, with software export figures touching Rs 15.35 cr in 2006-07. As many as 6,000 cars ferry at least 30,000 people who are part of this boom from their home to workplaces and back.

Senior city police officials say call centres and IT companies have been orally directed time and again to beef up security measures for their staff, an advice that goes unheeded.

When the safety of these employees came up after a similar case in Bangalore last year, the city police drew up a plan to send written copies of safety rules to the BPO companies. However, barring a few meetings on safety and security of the staff, nothing was sent.

DCP Chandrashekhar Daithankar had, on Saturday, said BPO companies were not adhering to safety measures for their women employees. But on Sunday he said the BPO companies had been informed orally and no written directives were issued. “Written directives would be issued either on Monday or Tuesday,” Daithankar said.

“We have not sent any written directives either to the IT or BPO companies with regard to enforcing security measures especially for women staff,” said ACP (Special Branch) A S Turekar. The only solace comes from a police order which has asked agents dealing in selling two and four-wheelers to submit certified copies of vehicle documents including details such as name, address and profession of the buyer to the local police station. Even this the police said has received an extremely poor response.

BPO vehicle contractors maintain that they follow the directives of BPO companies like providing photographs of the driver, his biodata, photocopies of the licence of drivers, copy of ration card of the relative or acquaintance where the driver is staying and the address besides fingerprints and character verification certificate issued by the special branch.

“It is mandatory for us to drop a woman employee home first after 8 pm. A guard from the BPO company usually accompanies the car driver for late night drops. There are standing instructions not to drop the women employees at the regular stops but outside their residence during night. The driver and guard carry a register where the departure signature of the employee is taken as per the laid down procedures. We ensure that all rules are observed and don’t tolerate any violations. But BPO companies should ensure that guards are deployed for security,” said a vehicle contractor.

BPO executives maintain that the contractors are responsible for the behaviour of the driver. “It is the contractor’s duty to ensure that the safety measures are followed. But this hardly happens, contractors don’t pay much attention towards their drivers, which is extremely dangerous,” said a senior executive of a reputed BPO firm.

Accused in police custody till November 12

A local court on Saturday remanded pick-up car driver Purushottam Borate (26) and his friend Pradeep Yashwant Kokade (20) in police custody till November 12 in connection with the murder of Jyoti Kumari Choudhary. Choudhary was raped and murdered by Borate and Kokade. They were arrested by the police from their residence in the Sai Nagar area of Dehu Road.

Pune Rural SP Vishwas Nangre Patil, who is investigating the case, took the accused to the crime spot for further investigations on Sunday. “There is not an iota of doubt about the girl being raped by the accused. Her veins were cut with a knife and she was strangulated with a dupatta,” Patil said. “The accused have confessed that her head was smashed till she died. It is one of the most tragic and barbaric cases. Investigations are on.”

Auto federation, NGO, corporator talk of action

The murder of Wipro BPO employee Jyoti Kumari Choudhary has evoked strong reactions from several sections.

Pune City Autorickshaw Federation has demanded a crackdown on tourist vehicles functioning as call centre cars. The federation said around 6,000 vehicles have been registered as tourist vehicles for ferrying passengers from one town to another on a contractual basis. However, these vehicles are found to be illegally operating as call centre cabs.

It is mandatory for vehicle owners to have public service badges and a numbers of requests have been made to police commissioner Jayant Umranikar and the RTO authorities to carry out checks of whether the call centre vehicles were in possession of the public services badges, the release said.

The manager of the company is responsible for his employees as in the case of Jyoti Kumari Choudhary as he had assured the safety and security of the employees in the contract, the release added.

The federation led by president Baba Shinde, has demanded action against the manager and set a deadline of November 15 after which the federation workers will stop call centre vehicles on roads and check them for public services badges.

Sarthi, a city-based organisation, in a release on Sunday demanded women drivers be employed by contractors for ferrying women BPO and IT employees. The release said stringent security measures should be followed and women volunteers and guards should be employed to ensure their safety.

Besides, security surveillance system should be installed in each car to keep a track of the vehicle. The organisation has appealed to working women to wear decent and modest Indian culture clothes while they step out for work.

Meanwhile, PMC corporator Kalpana Jadhav and president of Prerna Mahila and Balvikas Pratisthan, in a release raised the question of women’s safety in Pune. Armed security men should be deployed for ensuring safety of the women staff. Jadhav has said they would scrutinise cars without armed security and hand the drivers over to the police.

The Rules

* A guard should accompany a woman employee for night pick-up (starting 8 pm) and before 6 am

* Men should be picked up first and then the women staff

* While dropping them off, the women should be dropped first and then the men

* Woman employee are not allowed to sit on the front seat next to the driver