Pune:
A Pune court will today pronounce the quantum of punishment to be given to two convicts in the 2007 rape and murder of a 22-year-old girl employed with a BPO in Pune.
A cab driver and his accomplice were pronounced guilty of raping and murdering Jyoti Kumari Chowdhari by the court on Saturday. Ms Jyoti was allegedly raped and murdered by the driver of company's pick-up car on November 1, 2007.
The driver Purushottam Borate had reportedly picked Ms Jyoti at 10 pm for her night shift in the BPO, situated at Hinjweadi area in Pune. According to reports, the driver was joined by his friend Pradeep Kokate in the cab. Ms Jyoti was talking on the phone with her boyfriend and did not realise where they were headed. At 11 pm Ms Jyoti's boyfriend heard her ask the driver why had he stopped the car after which the phone was disconnected and was unreachable, say reports.
Ms Jyoti's body was found next day at Gahunje village. She was raped and had been strangulated to death.
Ms Jyoti, who was from Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, was a Science graduate from the University of Pune. She was staying with her sister and brother-in-law in Panchavati area of Pashan and had joined a call centre as an associate in December 2006.
The shocking case was an eye-opener for the booming IT-BPO-call centre industry in Pune in 2007 and it was only after this rape and murder that safety issues of women working in IT industry were reviewed with all seriousness by companies and police.
Now most companies have security guards in office vehicles when women employees are being dropped off or picked up. Thorough background checks of drivers are carried out and all vehicles are equipped with tracking systems.