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Relax norms on dropping women home: BPOs

Facing problems in implementing the order on dropping women employees home, the BPO industry has asked Delhi Police to define night shifts, relax norms on door-step dropping and allow installation of GPS on call centre vehicles in a phased manner.

The Delhi Police had made it mandatory for BPOs, media and corporate houses to drop women employees at their houses during night hours and ensure a feedback of their reaching home through a telephone call, a step taken after the sensational abduction-cum-rape of a call centre employee on December 9 last year.

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Relax norms on dropping women home: BPOs

At a meeting chaired by Delhi Police Commissioner B K Gupta, the industry leaders apprised him about the problems faced in implementing the order in "full spirit".

The meeting was attended among others by Nasscom chief Som Mittal, Nasscom Vice President Raju Bhatnagar, senior officials of industry majors like IBM, HCL and American Express.

A senior police official said the industry representatives raised issues like having clarity on the timing of night shifts and problems in dropping women employees at their doorstep.

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Relax norms on dropping women home: BPOs

"They said the order issued under CrPC has not defined the night shift. They wanted to be clear on the timings. Also, they told us that they were not able to ensure that women employees have reached home as many of them were not willing to make a return call.

"They claimed that women employees were not willing to give their phone numbers to the guard accompanying them or the driver, making it difficult for them to ensure that they have reached their home safely," the official said.

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Relax norms on dropping women home: BPOs

According to Bhatnagar, it was a review meeting to see how the order was being implemented on the ground level and to understand the challenges in ensuring that the order is being implemented.

"We told police that we were facing problems in the doorstep dropping. In many areas, we are not able to drop the employees at their house as there are no motorable roads. Also we want clarity whether we can drop the employees at the gate if it is a gated apartment," the Nasscom vice president said.

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Relax norms on dropping women home: BPOs

The industry also needs clarity on night hours, he said, adding the industry has also requested that they be allowed to install GPS on call centre cabs in a phased manner.

"There are a couple of thousands cabs. We have requested for a phased implementation of GPS," he said, adding, "The industry is not at cost cutting nor the police is looking at troubling the industry or cab drivers."