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Journalism of Courage
An FIR has been registered against a top Tata Steel official for allegedly abetting the suicide of Charudatta Deshpande,former chief of Corporate Communications,who was found hanging at his Vasai home on June 28,police said Tuesday.
Prabhat Sharma,Head,Corporate Affairs of Tata Steel,Jamshedpur was booked by the Vasai police under Section 306 (Abetment of suicide) of the IPC,following a complaint by former Forbes India Editor Indrajit Gupta on Monday night.
According to the complaint filed by Gupta,57-year-old Charudatta was constantly humiliated and harassed between May 2012 and May 2013 following which he took the drastic decision to end his life,police said. Prashant Deshpande,DSP Vasai division,is investigating the case.
According to police,Charudatta had committed suicide in June,sometime after a critical story on the company had appeared in the leading business magazine,which sparked off the alleged harassment that became more focused and sharp after the publication of the article.
The article was not too negative of Tata Steel but some Tata Steel managers perceived it so and blamed it on Charudatta. It was found that he was uncomfortable with one or two persons and the harassment by his tormentors only increased after the Forbes article, the Mumbai police had said after Maharashtra Home Minister R R Patil had ordered the Crime Branch to probe the alleged suicide.
