Two days after Swaroop Raj, Genpact India’s Assistant Vice-President committed suicide in his apartment in Noida over allegations of sexual harassment, his wife has lodged an FIR against the company management and seven of its employees, accusing them of abetment to suicide.
Kirti, Swaroop’s wife, who happens to be a management trainee in the same organization, has filed the FIR against five male employees apart from the two women who accused her husband of harassing them sexually.
Kirti claims that her husband was suspended without any investigation. Her complaint states, “He was declared guilty without being given any opportunities to be heard and (they) penalised him by barring him from coming to work. He was not allowed to work from home and made to leave behind his identity card and laptop, thereby brandished as a sexual offender and stripped off his dignity without any investigation.”
The Police has said that they will look into the matter and if necessary, the people mentioned in the FIR could be called for questioning. The members of Genpact’s Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) have also been booked under the same charge, the Police have said.
Swaroop’s suicide note had called the allegations “baseless”. His suicide note read, “Today I want to let you know how much I love you. I have an allegation by two of the employees of sexual harassment and trust me I did not do anything. I know the world will understand it but you and our families should trust me. The allegations are baseless. But the entire Genpact will know about it, hence I do not have the courage to face anyone. I want you to be strong and live life with whole respect as your husband has not done anything.”
Swaroop had committed suicide on December 18, on the same day that Genpact suspended him after two female employees had levelled allegations of sexual harassment on him.
Genpact confirmed that he was suspended to have a “fair, uninfluenced inquiry”. “The complaint made serious allegations of sexual harassment which are being duly investigated by the internal complaints committee. To have a fair, uninfluenced inquiry, he was placed under temporary suspension pending the closure of the inquiry in line with the legal requirement and company policy so that ICC could carry out a reasonable investigation into the allegations received from two female employees,” a spokesperson for the company said in a statement.
The suicide of Swaroop reveals the problematic nature of the ‘Me Too’ movement. While sexual harassment at workplace remains a serious issue, the “Believe All Women” rhetoric aggressively furthered by the ‘Me Too’ feminists is extremely problematic at many levels.
