Kolkata: A former employee of a cloud based real estate firm in Lake Town has lodged a complaint of workplace sexual harassment against a senior colleague and alleged that she was forced to resign and later terminated when she reported the incidents to the management.Based on her complaint, Lake Town police have registered a case under multiple provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and started an investigation. No one has been arrested in this case yet.In her complaint, the woman alleged that the harassment began shortly after she had joined the firm on Feb this year. Detailing the alleged harassment, she claimed that on one occasion during lunch hours, the colleague commented that the colour of her clothes made her underwear visible. She alleged that he also stared at her in an inappropriate manner, leaving her “embarrassed” and causing “mental distress”.According to the complaint, she immediately informed her manager about the incident, but alleged that no effective action followed. The complainant further alleged that on May 8, the man suddenly approached her and “forcibly held” her hands. She claimed the incident left her frightened, humiliated and traumatised after reporting the matter to the senior again.According to the complaint, after returning to work from a two-day leave on May 11, she was allegedly made to sit separately and directed to submit her resignation without any discussion about her performance. She claimed she was asked to hand over her office laptop, SIM card and other company property.The woman alleged that she emailed the company’s management the same day detailing the alleged sexual harassment. Soon afterwards, she claimed, company officials called her questioning why she had filed the complaint, following which her employment was terminated. While the company allegedly cited poor performance as the reason for her dismissal, she has alleged that the action was retaliatory and directly linked to her complaint of sexual harassment.The complainant has urged police to check CCTV footage, emails, internal communications, attendance records and other evidence, besides recording statements of witnesses who were present during the alleged incidents.
