India’s number one export house Shahi Exports has said that it is proactively working with the authorities to find out the matter regarding the baby found dead in one of its units in Bengaluru.
On 28 November, one of housekeeping personnel of the factory found a foetus in the garbage bin inside the first-floor ladies toilet, when she went to clean the place.
“This factory (unit no. 28) employs about 1,600 women and their safety, security and health are amongst top priorities of the company,” the company said.
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Srinivasa Rao Venkatesh, Chief Compliance Officer of the company told Apparel Resources, “The HR personnel examined the factory records to find out if there were any pregnant women currently working who could have experienced stillbirth. However, since May 2020, in conformity with the Government’s ‘National Directives for COVID-19 Management’, pregnant women are not working in our factories and our crèche facilities too remain closed.”
After filing a case and visiting the factory, the police started an investigation which involved examining the scene and talking to several employees. The investigation is still ongoing.
Meanwhile, the police have asked for CCTV footage of the main gate, security shift details, along with other details.
To help create an anxiety-free workplace, the factory officials called a Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) committee meeting and also updated staff members, supervisors and workers in batches.
“As an organisation, we have been working on ways to prevent such incidents through raising awareness on reproductive health. However, before diagnosing the current situation and the further steps needed, we await more insight from the ongoing investigation by the police authorities. We are deeply saddened by this incident and our focus remains on supporting the police in discharging their duty,” he said.
