Mumbai cops probe top Tata Steel officials in Charu suicide case

The police has unearthed notings in Deshpande's handwriting where he has mentioned some of circumstances leading to his suicide

The Mumbai police is close to a breakthrough in the suicide case of former Tata Steel employee Charudutta Deshpande after interrogating top Tata officials and collecting evidence in Jamshedpur.

“We have interrogated as many as 47 persons so far including the vice-presidents Partho Sengupta, Ramesh Krishnan Charu’s assistant and the current head of corporate communications,” Mumbai’s Joint Commissioner of Police Himanshu Roy told a delegation of the Mumbai Press Club on Thursday.
"Tata Steel has been fully cooperating with the police in their investigation. The company, at this stage, does not wish to comment any further," a Tata Steel spokesperson said.

Roy said the investigation is progressing well and was near completion. The police unearthed notings in Deshpande’s handwriting where he has mentioned some of the circumstances and names associated with his harassment in the days and months before his death.

A Mumbai police team had gone to the Tata Steel headquarters at Jamshedpur and  seized Deshpande’s personal computer and was examining as many as 1,000 emails he had stored.

Roy said the investigations revealed that Charu was disappointed with his work place and his experiences at Tata Steel. It was discovered that Deshpande was the first person in Tata Steel – who despite being appointed at very senior level -- was not confirmed in service after completion of his probation.

“In the weeks before his exit in May, depositions revealed that Deshpande’s behavior became more nervous and he began to smoke heavily. In one instance, this even triggered a fire alarm,” Roy said, adding: “He developed a sense of frustration because of being sidelined and denied normal travel opportunities which he thought were very essential to fulfill his job profile. Only two of his 36 requests for travel were sanctioned. His request for an audience with the senior management was repeatedly denied.”

Roy said harassment of Charu become more focused and sharp after the publication of an article in Forbes Magazine on Tata Steel in February. “The article was not too negative of Tata Steel, but some Tata Steel managers perceived it so, and blamed it on Charu. It has been established that he was uncomfortable with one or two persons; and the harassment by his tormentors only increased after the Forbes article,” he said.