The Hinjewadi police in Pune has arrested two men, one of whom allegedly raped a 25-year-old woman on the Infosys premises, while the other clicked pictures of the act. Both of them have been remanded to police custody for further probe.
According to the Hinjewadi police, the victim and the two accused work in Infosys as staff members providing hospitality. The incident occurred on December 27 sometime between 5.30 pm and 6 pm in Phase I of the three phases of Infosys. The woman had gone to the ladies washroom where the accused, Paritosh Baug, trespassed and raped her.
The second accused, Prakash Mahadik, arrived and hid from the victim and started capturing the act on his cellphone. The police has found the evidence in form of blurred images. They have seized Mahadik’s cellphone and will be sending it to the forensic laboratory. The FSL will also try to retrieve any images or videos that the accused might have deleted.
After the rape, the duo threatened to circulate the images to others if she dared to tell anyone about the incident. The victim quietly left for home and after confiding in her dear ones, mustered courage and approached police on Monday.
An FIR has been registered by the Hinjewadi police under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Information Technology Act for raping her, criminally intimidating her and for capturing images of the act on the cellphone.
The duo was then produced before a local magistrate’s court where the magistrate remanded them to police custody till January 1 next year.
The above information was confirmed by police inspector, crime, A. T. Vaghamale of the Hinjewadi police station. When asked he also said that the accused may not have a prior criminal record. The victim has been sent for a medical test.
Reacting to the incident, Infosys said in a statement that the company was working closely with the police to aid their investigation. “We have stringent security measures and a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment extending to contractual staff too. The company will take necessary action as per the policy,” the Infosys statement said.
