Woman executive ends life in Ghaziabad, kin allege workplace harassment; FIR lodged

Noida/Ghaziabad: A 27-year-old private firm executive ended her life allegedly due to physical and mental harassment by her colleagues, prompting the Ghaziabad police to launch an investigation into the matter, officials said on Wednesday.

The woman, who lived in Ghaziabad and worked at the firm located in Noida, was allegedly being harassed for the past five-six months, her family claimed. The woman worked as a tele-caller hired by a third party company for Axis Bank. Both Axis Bank and the third party employees work out of the Axis House building in Noida where she worked.

After the woman killed herself on July 12 allegedly by consuming poison, her brother approached the local Nandgram police station in Ghaziabad where an FIR was lodged under section 108 (abetment of suicide) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

The brother claimed that a note was found in her room, in which she had "written about committing suicide due to harassment by these persons as well as some other staff members", according to the FIR.

Alleging that his sister ended her life due to physical and mental harassment, he said "these people are responsible for her suicide".

He also claimed that his sister had narrated her ordeal to the family three-four days before taking the extreme step.

"My younger sister was working at Axis House, Noida. She had told the family three-four days before committing suicide that the employees working with her were harassing her physically and mentally for the last five-six months," her brother alleged in the FIR in which he mentioned names of three colleagues, including a woman.

"Being troubled by the actions of these people, my sister consumed poisonous substance on July 12 at around 4.15 pm, after which we went to MMG Hospital, Ghaziabad and she was treated there," he said.

Due to her serious condition, the woman was referred to GTB Hospital in Delhi after some time, but she died during treatment the same evening.

Meanwhile, the Ghaziabad Police have launched a probe into the case.

"We are examining CCTV footage from the work place of the deceased. We are also questioning her colleagues to ascertain facts of the matter. A detailed probe is underway," Assistant Commissioner of Police (Nandgram) Ravi Kumar Singh told PTI.

In a statement, Axis Bank said it was "deeply saddened" by the unfortunate incident relating to the executive but clarified that she was not an employee of the bank.

"She was an employee of QUESS Corp limited. From a preliminary review of the incident, we understand that there was a significant disagreement between the executive and another QUESS Corp employee at our Noida Office," Axis Bank said.

"She was under investigation by QUESS Corp and was issued a show-cause notice on July 10 and disciplinary action was taken by QUESS Corp," Axis Bank said.

"We are cooperating with the authorities in the investigation into this unfortunate incident. Axis Bank has a zero-tolerance policy for any code of conduct violation," it added.