A case has been registered against a man in Bengaluru for allegedly sending obscene and inappropriate messages to a woman employee working at a State Bank of India (SBI) branch. The incident has raised questions on safety of women bank employees.
Incident at SBI Branch
A woman working at the State Bank of India’s Kacharakanahalli branch filed a complaint that a bank customer sent her obscene messages. According to the complaint, the incident began on March 10, when a man identified as KR Ravi Shetty visited the bank.
Shetty had come to the branch to enquire about internet banking services. During the interaction, he reportedly spoke about his business activities and then shared his mobile number with the bank employee. He allegedly asked her to give him a missed call on that number. After that, he saver her mobile number.
Later the same day, at around 8 pm, the man sent an obscene message to the woman employee. The woman was startled. It was very shocking for her. The message contained sexually explicit remarks directed at the employee. The woman reportedly warned the accused legally and asked him to stop sending such messages. However, despite the warning, the man continued to send obscene and inappropriate messages.
Woman informs Bank Manager
The next day, the bank employee informed the Chief Manager of the branch about the incident. After learning about the matter, the Chief Manager contacted the man over the phone. During the call, Shetty said that he would visit the bank and apologise for his behaviour.
However, later that day at around 5:20 pm, the accused allegedly sent another inappropriate message. He also misbehaved with the branch manager. In the message, he made improper suggestions about arranging a meeting between him and the complainant. This is a very shocking incident.
- Right to File Complaint: A woman can file a complaint against sexual harassment at the workplace under the POSH Act (Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, 2013).
- Internal Complaints Committee (ICC): Every organisation with 10 or more employees must have an Internal Complaints Committee to investigate harassment complaints.
- Right to Police Complaint: If the act involves criminal behaviour such as stalking, threats, or obscene messages, the victim can also file an FIR with the police.
- Confidentiality Protection: The identity of the complainant must remain confidential during the investigation.
- Right to Safe Workplace: Employers are legally required to ensure a safe and harassment-free working environment.
- Punishment for Accused: If found guilty, the accused may face disciplinary action, suspension, job termination, or legal punishment depending on the offence.
Police Complaint and FIR Registered
Following these incidents, the woman employee approached the police and filed a formal complaint against the accused. Based on the complaint, the police have registered a First Information Report (FIR) against KR Ravi Shetty under Section 75(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which deals with offences related to harassment and obscene behaviour. The police have started an investigation into the case and are examining the allegations made in the complaint. Further action will be taken based on the findings of the investigation.
Reactions from Public
Bank employees and the public are very upset about this incident. Many people are saying that SBI should immediately ban this man from entering the bank branch. People are also saying that banks should provide an official contact number for every branch, which can be shared with customers for enquiries. This will help protect the privacy of employees, especially female staff.
At present, in many public sector bank branches in India, there is no official branch contact number. Because of this, employees sometimes have to share their personal mobile numbers with customers to help them with banking services. This situation can create problems. In some cases, customers misuse the personal mobile numbers of female employees and send inappropriate messages. This incident is not the only one; similar cases have happened earlier as well.
Many people believe that banks should seriously think about this issue and introduce proper systems to protect employees’ privacy and safety.
