BENGALURU: The recent arrest of a 30-year-old Infosys techie, who was secretly filming women in the office restroom in Bengaluru, highlights the need for proper background verification (BGV) checks before onboarding employees.
Corporates usually engage with third-party companies that specialise in providing verification checks of new recruits, and background verification is comprehensive in case of IT companies as it also includes criminal record checks, among others.
"In high-trust industries like IT, where employees are given access to sensitive data and physical infrastructure from day one, the stakes for onboarding rights are high. Traditional background verification typically happens after an employee has already joined. But recent incidents like the one involving the Infosys employee, reaffirm the urgency of pre-onboarding checks," Piyush Peshwani, Co-founder & CEO at OnGrid, a background verification platform, told TNIE.
For IT companies, the risk is not just reputational, it’s operational and legal. A rogue insider can compromise entire systems. What the Infosys case underscores is the blind spot in most current hiring processes: a clean record does not mean no risk, said Peshwani.
Soon after the arrest, Infosys in a statement said that they have taken necessary action against the employee, who is now separated from the company.
"Candidates might not have a criminal history but may still pose threats based on behavioural issues, red flags from past employers, or gaps that go unnoticed in quick turnarounds. More and more employers, especially in fintech, gig platforms, and even traditional BFSI are switching to instant, API-enabled BGV integrated right at the application stage,” said the OnGrid co-founder.
Experts pointed out that in many organisations, particularly fast-growing tech companies or even start-ups, there’s often a race to onboard talent quickly.
"While standard BGVs are conducted, the depth and scope of these checks can vary. In the case of someone who joined just three months ago, the likely gaps lie in either the timing or type of checks conducted," he said, adding that they have seen similar patterns across industries.
From delivery platforms to large corporations, the biggest risk today is not just fraud, but people who fall through the cracks of conventional verification.
Aditya Narayan Mishra, MD & CEO of CIEL HR, said that it is ultimately about individual conduct in the workplace and that one can’t hold the company responsible for a person’s actions. "What matters is how quickly and decisively the organisation responds. That speaks volumes about its values and culture," he said.
Peshwani said for IT firms, the risk is amplified because employees are often unsupervised in digital environments. He stressed that background verification must shift from being a checklist to becoming a gatekeeping mechanism for workplace safety. “And that gate should ideally open only after trust has been established, not the other way around,” he said.