‘Bandariya’, ‘Divorcee’: Noida Bank Employee Dies By Suicide Over Workplace Harassment, Bank And Agency Issue Statements

She left a five-page suicide note in which she allegedly named six of her colleagues.

Noida: Workplace humour is a common practice and colleagues often indulge in playful banter. But sometimes, the banter can turn nasty, as happened with Shivani Gupta, a 27-year-old woman who used to work at Axis Bank’s Noida branch in Sector 128.

Shivani Gupta reportedly died by suicide at her house by consuming poison last Friday just hours after receiving a termination email, said a report by Times of India.

She left a five-page suicide note in which she allegedly named six of her colleagues, including two managers, accusing them of causing her agony, said the report.

Shivani Gupta’s colleagues used to call her “divorcee” and “bandariya (monkey)”, according to the suicide note. She had joined Axis Bank as a relationship officer in Sector 128, Noida, last October.

Shivani, in the suicide note, alleged that she was facing insensitive, ruthless behaviour from her six colleagues over the last six months that caused her mental and physical torment. The suicide note mentions that her colleagues not only used offensive language against her but also physically attacked her.

She had also consulted a psychiatrist at Vidyasagar Institute of Mental Health, Neuro & Allied Sciences (VIMHANS) in Delhi over her mental trauma.

Shivani, in the note, had identified a female colleague as her primary tormentor, who used to engage in frequent arguments over trivial issues and ridicule her with names like “bandariya” and “dimag se pagal (insane)”. In the note, Shivani entrusted her brother to take care of their family, urging him to take action against her colleagues. She had shared her bank details and PINs in the note.

Her brother, Gaurav Gupta, has filed a complaint against her bank colleagues.

The bank while offering condolences to Shivani Gupta’s family, assured full cooperation with the investigation and said that it had engaged a private agency whose employees are working from its branch.

Meanwhile, the Axis Bank has issued a statement.

It Is As Follows

“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident relating to Ms. Shivani Tyagi. We wish to clarify that Ms. Shivani Tyagi was not an employee of Axis Bank. She was an employee of QUESS Corp limited. From a preliminary review of the incident, we understand that there was a significant disagreement between Ms. Shivani Tyagi and another QUESS Corp employee at our Noida Office. She was under investigation by QUESS Corp and was issued a showcause notice on 10th July and disciplinary action was taken by QUESS Corp. We are cooperating with the authorities in the investigation into this unfortunate incident. Axis Bank has a zero-tolerance policy for any code of conduct violation,” said an official representative of Axis Bank.

Staffing services provider QUESS Corp Limited also issued a statement about the case.

“We are deeply saddened by the unfortunate incident involving Ms. Shivani Tyagi and regret the loss experienced by her family. As a staffing services provider, we supply manpower to various organizations across sectors at customer premises. The employees deployed at these sites work under client instructions and mandates. Quess’s role is limited to hiring, training, and deploying resources according to project requirements. We uphold the highest standards and maintain a zero-tolerance policy for any behavior that violates workplace conduct. We will support the investigating authorities by providing all employment-related documentation as needed,” says the statement by QUESS Corp Limited.