Infosys has sacked the techie who was arrested for allegedly filming a woman colleague while she was using the washroom at the office in Bengaluru.
Infosys has issued a statement stating that the IT Bellwether company has fired the employee.
“We are aware of this incident and have taken necessary action against the employee, who is now separated from the Company. We also promptly supported the complainant by facilitating a swift complaint with the law enforcement authorities and continue to cooperate as they investigate further. Infosys is committed to providing an environment free of harassment and has a zero-tolerance policy. We take every complaint related to any violation of the Company’s Code of Conduct seriously.”
The Electronic City police arrested the accused following a complaint lodged by the woman employee. The accused has been identified as Swapnil Mahesh Mali, a Senior Associate Consultant in the Helix Department at Infosys.
The victim, a 35-year-old married software professional, works as a Technical Test Lead at Infosys. She works from the office for about 10 days a month and otherwise works from home.
According to the FIR, the incident took place on June 30 at around 11 a.m. when the woman went to the ladies’ washroom. She noticed a reflection on the door in front of her and, upon closer observation, sensed that someone had withdrawn an object from the partition wall. She immediately stepped out and began monitoring the area.
She returned to the washroom shortly after another woman exited from a nearby cubicle. After 5 to 6 minutes, she noticed a mobile phone being used to record from the adjacent stall.
Realising what was happening, the woman stood on the commode and saw the accused filming her from the next stall. Upon being caught, the accused repeatedly apologised, the FIR stated.
The woman rushed out of the washroom to the common area and raised an alarm, alerting others that someone was filming inside the ladies’ washroom.
Several employees responded quickly. The accused attempted to flee the scene but was stopped. HR managers who arrived at the spot confiscated his mobile phone and found footage of the woman being filmed in the washroom.
The accused continued to apologise. The woman asked him to delete the video. The HR team took screenshots of the footage before deleting it.
After reaching home, the woman discussed the incident with her husband. He advised her to file a formal police complaint, expressing concern that the accused might have secretly filmed other women and could continue harassing female colleagues.
Based on her complaint, the police booked the accused under Section 66E of the Information Technology Act and Section 77 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
