Bangalore: Verdict is expected in the murder case of BPO employee Prathibha Srikanthamurthy on Wednesday. A Bangalore fast track court will decide whether cab driver Shiva Kumar is guilty.
Shiva Kumar is accused of raping and murdering 28-year-old BPO employee Prathibha Srikanthmurthy in December 2005. Shiva Kumar was arrested, as he was the last person to be seen with Prathibha before she went missing. The accused however claims he is being framed.
The murder had shook up the entire BPO industry in the country, putting the focus on the security of employees.
Ever since her daughter's murder in December 2005, Prathibha's mother, Gowramma has been fighting a lone battle. She's attended every court hearing, sat through lawyers' arguments and police questioning, and waited with hope for just one thing – a death penalty for this man – Shiva Kumar, the cab driver who's accused of killing Prathibha Srikanthmurthy. Prathibha was an employee of HP's BPO operations. Her murder had shocked the entire IT sector, and Wednesday will be the judgment day.
At CNN-IBN, Prathibha's case touches a special chord because her murder came to light the same day the channel was launched. The channel had started a campaign for justice for Prathibha and today, four-and-a-half years later, the channel hopes Prathibha gets justice.
For Gowramma though, little will change. She lost her husband 15 days after Prathibha was born and struggled as a single mother to bring up her only child. Her home is filled with memories and a void.
She says, “I have everything, but I have nothing… I'm staying alone here… it's very difficult to live without my daughter. I loved her so much… everyday, every night I'm crying… I don't sleep at all."
Here's a brief recap of how the case unfolded:
Prathibha was picked up at 1.50 am (for her 2.30 am shift) from her residence at Kumaraswamy Layout, nearly 25 km from Electronics City.
On December 13, 2005, Pratibha was reported missing after leaving home for her night shift in a BPO at Electronics City.
The next day, her body was found in a grove on the outskirts of Bangalore.
Investigations by the police revealed that the cab's driver, 28-year-old Shiva Kumar, had called Prathibha on her mobile phone on December 13 evening to tell her that he would be picking her up in place of the regular driver Jagadish.
Shiva Kumar was one of the 60 drivers employed by SRS Transport, which had been engaged by the BPO to ferry its employees.
Newly-wed Prathibha was seen boarding a vehicle driven by Shiva Kumar by her sister-in-law.
Minutes later, Jagadish arrived and called Pratibha on her cell phone.
Prathibha informed that she had already been picked up before handing the cell phone to Shiva Kumar who told Jagadish that he had been asked to pick up Prathibha from her residence.
Jagadish informed the office about the change.
Prathibha married in 2005 and joined HP Globalsoft in June 2005.
An examination of Shiva Kumar's mobile phone records revealed that he had called two other girls with the same story. They, however, did not board his cab after checking with the company and being told that no substitute driver was being sent.
Despite the case being handled by a fast task court, it has taken four-and-a-half years to get to this point.
Among other things, 4 Judges have been changed so far.
71 witnesses examined in the case, which includes employees of HP Globalsoft.
The murder caused a big scare among female employees of BPOs and led to improvements in security systems. Several companies claim to have put steps in place for the well being of employees working in the night shifts.
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