BANGALORE: Prathibha joined HP Globalsoft in 2005 after her marriage. She went missing on December 13, 2005, after leaving home for her night shift. Her body was found on the outskirts of the city a day later in a deserted area in Anjanapura Layout, adjacent to Kanakapura Road. Kumaraswamy Layout police registered the case and investigated.
Investigations revealed that Shiva Kumar, a driver of the company engaged by the BPO, had called Pratibha on her mobile phone the night she went missing.
The trial of the case began on January 7, 2007, before the 7th fast track sessions judge K Sukanya. Then she was replaced by judge J S Deshpande and the two judges recorded evidence of 71 witnesses. Judge Beraladinni, who came next, recorded the cross examination of the 71 witnesses.
At the stage of recording the statement of accused Shiva Kumar on the statements made by the witnesses, finally the case was transferred to the 11th fast track court in December 2009.
Shiva Kumar's allegations
The prosecution and the trial part of the accused Shiva Kumar went on with many speculations and statements made by the accused. He once said that he was fixed in the case and two others who committed the crime were let away by the police. Even after this incident, rumours spread against Prathibha's husband Pavan Shetty's 'hand' in the murder of Prathibha, but later it was ruled out.
In one instance, Shiva Kumar, on the way back to the Parappana Agrahara jail, spoke to reporters and claimed that he had been framed in the case by those with money power and political support. He also claimed that Prathibha's husband Pavan Shetty and two others, Devaiah, Harish, were also involved in the crime, but escaped arrest using their clout.
Tinted glass
The rape and murder of Prathibha created ripples in the IT industry and also among working women about their safety. The then police commissioner Ajai Kumar Singh, after this incident, had asked the city cab drivers not to use tinted glass to prevent some criminal activities by them. Because of Singh's initiation, IT and other companies were asked to display their phone numbers on the cabs that pickup and drop women employees. This was to help people inform the company if the cab drivers indulged in any criminal activities.
All IT and other companies started registering the addresses of the cab drivers and other personal information to prevent crimes. The government ordered all companies in the city, which have women employees working in night shifts, to give drops to their residences with proper security.
Case against Mittal
The labour department, considering the government order, had registered a civil case against HP company owner Som Mittal for not providing security to women employees in a civil court after Pratibha's murder.
