TCS staff's murder - Why it is too simplistic to blame IT/ITES companies!?

Uma Maheswari 

Uma Maheswari’s murder in Siruseri IT Park, Chennai has provoked lots of opinions in the media. The public take a vicarious pleasure in gleefully pointing a finger at the IT/BPO sector, “These IT companies don’t bother about their employees’ safety. They just want to make money.”

My question to these people is simple.

Atleast 5 to 6 lakh people are working in IT/ITES sector in Chennai and suburbs. Chennai population is 46 million with another 15 million working and residing in Chennai.. So we can say around 10% of Chennai population is working in IT related companies.

The murder statistics point out that around 200 homicides happen in Chennai annually.  So how can one expect that such a big chunk of population, of which 30% are women, be insulated from crime?!

Even by a simple back-of-the-envelope-calculation 2 lakh women are employed in IT/ITES sector. How can one expect that there cannot be an aberration? 

If murders of IT women are happening in a pattern, there is some substance in blaming the system. Does anybody see a pattern of homicides in employees of IT sector?!

IT sector is a soft target for media

When a woman working in export garments industry is murdered, does everyone start blaming the garment industry?!
If a woman working in a supermarket gets murdered, do the people start accusing the retail industry?
It beats me, why IT sector is immediately blamed when a murder takes place! In fact they are one of the few sectors which ensure transportation and have put in place some security mechanisms in place for employee safety.

Safety is 3 layered and one weak link in the system exposes the entire chain

As I often say, safety is 3 layered -
1) Individual level – awareness, peer group & habits
2) Community level – company, residential premises
3) Government level – Lighting, Transportation, Policing
The lapse in any of these levels is a high probability.  That one lapse exposes the weak link in the entire chain of safety.

Summing up –

Look at the big picture.  Chennai is a comparatively safe place. NCRBstatistics (Table 1.5) have reaffirmed it again and again, every year.

IT sector provides safe and secure workplaces. There is no pattern of crimes to jump to hasty conclusions. 

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S.SREERAM
Co-ordinator / Instructor
TamilNadu Chapter, Krav Maga (IKMF) India
Mobile: 93400 06600
Email-  kravmaga.chennai@gmail.com
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