Subsequent to Assistant Vice President Swaroop Raj’s suicide, the Uttar Pradesh police have served a notice on Genpact, asking it to explain the sequence of events as well as details of the internal process that led to Swaroop’s suspension over sexual harassment allegations leveled by two female colleagues. 

Earlier it was reported that in the suicide note it was mentioned that though the allegations are baseless; he feared the entire Genpact would know about it and wrote: “I do not have the courage to face anyone."

What’s known is that to have a fair and unbiased inquiry, he was placed under temporary suspension pending the closure of the investigation in line with a legal requirement and company policy so that ICC could carry out a reasonable investigation into the allegations received from two female employees. However, as per the FIR lodged by Swaroop’s wife he was not given the opportunity to present his side. 

Instead, the FIR said, he was penalized by way of several steps, like “debarring him from coming to work, not being allowed to work from home, leaving behind his identity card and laptop and thereby branding him as a sexual offender and stripping him of his dignity while blindly relying on the word of the two female employees”. 

Now, to examine the case further the police team visited the Genpact office on Saturday to serve the notice. Senior police officials shared that the direction of inquiry will depend on the explanation furnished by the company. “We are trying to examine if due procedure under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment at Work Place (POSH) Act was followed by the company. This is a complex and sensitive case as it follows two female employees coming out with ‘MeToo’ allegations. We will have to question the female complainants as well as the senior team of Genpact, if the need arises, as the deceased’s suicide note refers to them,” told a senior UP police officer. 

While the police awaits Genpact’s legally vetted reply to the police notice, the case has grabbed nationwide attention with the company’s Global Operating Officer Darren Saumur and Chief Executive Officer NV ‘Tiger’ Tyagarajan being among the “accused” in the FIR, besides HR Head Piyush Mehta, Assistant Vice President Sujoy Ghosh, HR Assistant Vice President Sachin Khanna (who signed the suspension letter), the two female employees and the company itself.