FILE: Men convicted for raping call centre employee in Delhi's Dhaula Kuan in 2010 (Press Trust of India photo)
Five men have been sentenced to life in prison for gang-raping a call centre worker in Delhi in 2010. The case brutally underscored the urgent need for better conditions for women working the late shift at the many BPOs in and around the capital.
The men had been found guilty by a court in Delhi last week.
The woman they attacked was 30. They abducted her when she was walking home in Delhi's Dhaula Kuan area with her colleague after her shift ended. For over 30 minutes, they took turns raping her in a moving vehicle.
After they abandoned her on the road, she phoned the friend who had been with her when she was abducted.
The women had been dropped by their call centre's car near the gate of the neighbourhood or colony where they lived. As they were walking towards the entrance, the men arrived.
Based on this case, call centres were asked to urgently adopt a slew of safety measures for women employees on the late shift. Cabs were ordered to drop women to their front door; a woman could not be alone in the office vehicle with the driver - an armed guard has to be present if she is going to be the last person to be dropped home.