BENGALURU: The Electronic City police have arrested a 30-year-old Infosys employee for allegedly recording his female colleague in the washroom of the Infosys campus.
The incident came to light on Monday morning around 11.15 am when the 35-year-old complainant, working as a Technical Test Lead, reportedly saw him record her on his mobile phone from an adjacent washroom. The woman immediately raised the alarm and the accused was caught by the HR personnel.
The police suspect that the accused must have recorded other female colleagues in the washroom as well. Upon investigation, it was found that the accused had 30 videos of different women on his mobile phone.
Since the videos were deleted, the police have sent his mobile phone to the FSL to retrieve the deleted videos and also for a detailed analysis. It is alleged that the victim's husband confronted the company and demanded action.
The accused was identified as Swapnil Nagesh Mali, a native of Andhra Pradesh. The victim, a resident of Varthur, filed the complaint a day after incident after discussing it with her husband.
The victim in her complaint has stated that due to the company mandating in-office attendance for at least 10 days a month, the complainant has been attending office accordingly. On Monday, she reported to work at 10 am as usual. At around 11 am, she went to use the women’s restroom located on the 3rd floor of Building 38, Gate-6, I-Q-E Wing of Infosys.
When she was in the restroom she noticed some movement near the door in front of her which made her suspicious. She immediately came out and noticed a woman exiting from the neighboring restroom. The complainant went back inside and observed carefully.
About five to six minutes later, she noticed that someone from the adjacent restroom had started recording her video using a mobile. The complainant then stood on the commode to check and saw a man standing on the commode in the adjacent stall and recording a video of her.
When the accused got caught, he repeatedly started apologising. The complainant rushed out of the restroom, ran towards the ODC area, and raised an alarm. Some company employees rushed to apprehend him.
The man tried to escape, but two HR personnel caught him and checked his mobile phone. On his phone, they found the video he had recorded, the complaint said.
"The man apologised again, and the complainant told him to delete the video. Feeling frightened and humiliated, the complainant did not know what to do. The HR personnel took a screenshot of the video before ensuring it was deleted. From the ID badge he was wearing, it was confirmed that the man was an Infosys employee named Swapnil Nagesh Mali, working in the Helix Department as a Senior Associate Consultant," according to the complaint.
"The videos have been deleted on his mobile phone. The mobile phone will be sent to FSL to retrieve the deleted data. Even though it is said that there were 30 videos of different women recorded in the Infosys campus, only the retrieved data will throw light on it. The accused who has been arrested is in police custody and is being interrogated. After the incident came to light, the company's POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) committee, is said to have been started looking into the issue. The complaint was initially taken to the South East CEN police station and later it was registered by the Electronic City police," said an officer.
A case of voyeurism (BNS 77) along with section 66E (whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent) of the IT Act of 2008 has been registered against the accused.
Further investigations are on.
Statement from Infosys
“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.”