Drop women employees at homes after 8 PM to 7 AM: Delhi Police

The order, which defines night hours from 8 PM to 7 AM, also makes it compulsory for the employers to ensure that a security guard accompanies the woman employee to her residence and ensure her safe arrival if the office vehicle cannot drop her right outside her house.

The order, which was first issued on December eight in the wake of the rape of a BPO employee from Mizoram, also suggests installation of GPS systems in the cabs used in the transportation of employees, especially of women employees within two months' time.

The order was issued under Section 144 of CrPC and the employers violating the order are liable to be punished under Section 188 (disobedience of an official order) of IPC which entails an imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of Rs 1,000 or both.
In the order, R C Saini, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Sub-Division, Ashok Vihar, said all offices should maintain a data base of all employees, security personnel, cab drivers and contractual workers working with them, for access by the police as and when required.

"Hire the security personnel and other contractual personnel as far as possible from licensed agencies only. Ensure verification of antecedents of all their employees including contractual employees," he said in the order.

"Certain criminal and anti-social elements look for soft targets, particularly during the odd hours and the women employees who travel during late night hours are vulnerable to crime by such elements if they are not dropped securely and safely at their places of stay," the order said.

Saini said the companies should ensure that women employees are not made to travel alone with the cab driver and a duly verified security guard or a male colleague (regular employee of the company) is invariably deployed in each cab carrying women staff during night hours i.e. 8 PM to 7 AM.

He also said that the drivers should choose the route in such manner that as far as possible a woman employee is not the first one to be picked up or the last to be dropped.

"Ensure that during the night hours cab involved in transportation of women employees picks up and drops such employees right at their houses and remains halted at the point where a women employee has been dropped till she confirms about her arrival/reaching at her residence/place of stay through a telephone call," he said. According to the order, the cab driver involved in transportation of women employees drops them "right at their houses, remains halted at the point where a woman employee has been dropped till she confirms about her arrival at her residence through a telephone call".

Noting that there was a "mushrooming of BPOs, corporate and media houses in Delhi and other parts of the NCR providing employment to youth, the order said, that the employer should ensure that women workers were not made to travel alone with the cab driver and a security guard should be invariably deployed in each cab carrying them.
The cab drivers should not pick any stranger or stray away from designated routes, the order said, adding the employer should instal GPS on their vehicles for easy tracking.