A group of information technology employees held a candlelight protest outside Accenture's Bengaluru office in Bellandur's Ecospace Business Park on December 12, expressing solidarity with techie Atul Subhash who died by suicide, alleging harassments by estranged wife, who works for the IT company, and her family.
Around 100 people joined the protest, though it is unclear if they were Accenture employees, sources said.
A poster, demanding justice for Subhash, was circulated among tech professionals to gather outside Jantar Mantar in Delhi and Accenture offices in Kolkata and Hyderabad, too, sources said.
The 34-year-old Bengaluru-based tech professional Subhash ended his life on December 9 at his Marathahalli residence. He accused his estranged wife and her family of harassment, posting a 90-minute video, a detailed 24-page suicide note, and a placard reading "Justice is due" in his room.
Subhash said his estranged wife and her family’s actions had pushed him to take the extreme step.
Email and messages sent to Accenture seeking comments on the matter remained unanswered till publishing the article.
Men's Rights NGO Save Indian Family Foundation gave a call for protest in the four cities, saying: “Let us come together to pay tribute to Atul, with candles or mobile torches, and express our solidarity in the fight for justice. Your presence will not only honor Atul’s legacy but will also help amplify the call for justice and systemic change.”
Subhash estranged wife, Nikita Singhania, is an artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) computational science specialist at Accenture, the world’s largest information technology company.
There have been widespread calls to terminate Singhania. In fact, aggressive online complaints have been directed at the company's page on X (formerly Twitter), forcing Accenture to restrict public access to its official X account. Its Indian account remained visible but inactive.
The online campaign also saw the company restrict the account of Julie Sweet, the US-headquartered firm’s chair and chief executive officer.
Also read: Atul Subhash’s brother alleges wife’s family demanded Rs 3 crore for case settlement
Family on the run
Subhash’s in-laws are on the run, a News18.com report claimed. Subhash’s mother-in-law, Nisha Singhania, and brother-in-law, Anurag, have reportedly fled their Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, residence to evade arrest after being named in an first information report (FIR) filed by Bengaluru Police under various sections, including abetment of suicide, of the BNS.
A purported video of Nisha Singhania leaving the house late at night on a bike has been circulating on social media.
Subhash’s family has demanded justice and strict action against those they responsible for his death. Subhash’s lawyer Dinesh Mishra said that his client’s monthly income in Bengaluru was approximately Rs 84,000, while the Family Court of Jaunpur ordered monthly alimony of Rs 40,000 for Subhash’s child in July, CNN-News18 reported. The lawyer said the money was for the child’s expenses and did not include any provision for the wife.
The lawyer said the court did not order any maintenance payments for Nikita Singhania since she is well-established and earns well.
Also read: Bengaluru techie suicide: Judge laughed when wife asked Atul Subhash to die, says uncle
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