Is the police investigating whether somebody abetted his suicide!? If not why?
Jagannathan
From: Jayashree <emailjayashree@gmail.com>
To: prpoint@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2013 3:53 PM
Subject: [prpoint] Tata Steel Corp Comm Head's death and the surrounding controversy
Jagannathan
From: Jayashree <emailjayashree@gmail.com>
To: prpoint@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, July 6, 2013 3:53 PM
Subject: [prpoint] Tata Steel Corp Comm Head's death and the surrounding controversy
Dear all,
The above issue has been actively taken up by media persons in Mumbai and in some other groups. Sharing the substance of correspondences that were forwarded to the women's media group by one of its members. It will be of relevance and interest to our group members and should be taken forward actively by the group as well. These include the letter written by the Press Club as well as the subsequent reply from the company. The demand now is that an independent person / persons from outside the company should be part of the high-level team that is conducting an enquiry. I think some investigation into this, independently as well, will be useful, as it reflects situations that any corp comm / media / PR professional may face.
--
Regards,Jayashree
--- In NWMIndia@yahoogroups.com, Jyoti Punwani <jyoti.punwani@...> wrote:
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Secretary-Press Club, Mumbai <secretary@...>
> Date: 3 July 2013 02:21
> Subject: TATA SONS CHAIRMANASSURES INQUIRY INTO CHARU'S DEATH
> To: press club <secretary@...>
>
>
> Dear Member,
>
>
>
> You are aware Charudatta Deshpande, head of Corporate Communications of Tata
> Steel, passed away in strange circumstances. As a journalist in the 1990s
> and an active member of the PR fraternity, he was a close friend and a
> professional held in high regard by a lot of us. He took his own life, but
> the evidence emerging clearly points to his harassment and wrongdoing at his
> workplace.
>
>
>
> Several senior journalists and other friends felt he had become a victim of
> machinations at Tata Steel. to press their point, they wrote on 30 June,
> 2013, along with the prima facie evidence they had gathered, to Tata Group
> Chairman, Cyrus Mistry and Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata demanding a full
> inquiry into Charu's death.
>
>
>
> Since then Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry has responded to the letter
> accepting the demand to hold an enquiry into Charu's death.
>
>
>
> Please find below both the letters - that demanding action and an inquiry by
> journalists; and the reply of Mr Mistry.
>
>
>
> Please let us know your comments and suggestions of what we can do in the
> matter.
>
>
>
> President
>
> Press Club, Mumbai
>
> ..................................................................................................................
>
>
>
> THE TWO LETTERS
>
>
>
> Mr Ratan Tata
>
> Chairman Emeritus
>
> Tata Group
>
> &
>
> Mr Cyrus Mistry
>
> Chairman
>
> Tata Group
>
> Dear Mr Tata and Mr Mistry,
>
> We write to you as the collective conscience of a group of friends and
> former colleagues of Charudatta Deshpande, a former Tata Steel employee, who
> committed suicide on Friday, June 28, 2013.
>
> From whatever evidence we have gathered until now on the back of
> conversations with Charudatta in the weeks leading to his demise, and with
> those who knew him closely, Charu was placed under enormous stress and
> subjected to harassment by officials at Tata Steel. Our understanding is it
> was this harassment that prompted him to commit suicide. This letter is an
> attempt to bring this episode to your attention and seek your intervention
> into instituting an urgent and independent inquiry into the matter.
>
> Charu was Head of Corporate Communications at Tata Steel. About a month ago,
> he resigned from the company. The events leading to his exit are relevant
> and we would like to place them before you for your consideration.
>
> In April, a few months into his new assignment, Forbes India magazine ran a
> cover story "Remoulding Tata Steel". The story is online here on
> http://forbesindia.com/article/boardroom/putting-the-shine-back-into-tata-steel/35049/0.
>
> It attempted to chronicle the challenges facing Tata Steel at a time when a
> crucial CEO succession drama was unfolding. The story was based on extensive
> and independent reporting that lasted more than five months. Soon after it
> appeared in print though, a distraught Charu got in touch with those of us
> at Forbes India and alleged officials at Tata Steel were placing the blame
> on him for "facilitating" a story they thought inimical to their interests.
>
> He added he was subsequently grounded for more than two weeks; that for all
> practical purposes was "under house arrest" in Jamshedpur; that his phones
> were being tapped; and that he was being subjected to enormous pressure to
> "admit" to his complicity in "leaking" confidential company documents to the
> media.
>
> Many of us have worked in the past at various newsrooms including at the
> Economic Times where he was a senior editor. We have also known him
> professionally in his stints as head of corporate communications at
> organisations such as ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Steel.
>
>
>
> We remember him as a thorough professional who placed a premium on the
> interests of the organizations he worked for. Each one of us can personally
> vouch that in his interactions with us, he has never behaved irresponsibly
> or tried to damage the reputation of the firms he represented.
>
>
>
> Those of us who were at Forbes India when the story on Tata Steel was being
> researched are willing to testify on any forum that matters he conducted
> himself with integrity and responsibility.
>
>
>
> What we also know of the events that preceded his death are outlined below.
>
>
>
> 1. He was in discussions with officials at Adfactors PR, with whom he was
> negotiating employment prospects. He told them he was being called and
> threatened repeatedly by a 'mafia' - a term he used constantly; and that his
> cell phone was being tapped.
>
>
>
> 2. He had informed a friend that he was being bullied into signing some
> documents/bonds on June 29, a day before he took his life.
>
>
>
> 3. Immediately after the story appeared, he was in constant touch over the
> phone with Indrajit Gupta, the founding editor of Forbes India. He confided
> in Indrajit Gupta and spoke of being confined for over two weeks at
> Jamshedpur, being harassed after the story appeared in the magazine, was not
> allowed to travel without permission, and articulated his concerns about his
> cell phone being tapped. Despite being advised to escalate the matter to
> higher authorities, including the Tata Headquarters at Bombay House, Charu
> insisted it would be futile and make things worse for him.
>
> Whatever be the circumstances behind his exit, most of us assumed he would
> put the setback behind him and move on. However, he alleged the threatening
> phone calls he got even after exiting he company was causing him a lot of
> stress.
>
> What transpired after Charu passed away was even more despicable. Even as
> the news of his demise trickled in on Friday evening, there were concerted
> attempts made by Tata Steel officials and the PR agency to pass off his
> death as a heart attack, and not a suicide. A senior PR official even
> insisted that he had visited Charu's residence and confirmed the news of the
> heart attack, which turned out to be untrue. Some regional papers even
> hinted he had embezzled funds.
>
> We believe this is an attempt to tarnish the reputation of a senior
> professional and take the focus away from the root cause behind his untimely
> death.
>
> Discussions with Charu's family have revealed he had no personal problems or
> disputes there. His brother-in-law Mahesh said Charu was extremely disturbed
> and depressed in the month before he finally quit Tata Steel. Mahesh also
> spoke of Charu confiding in the family he made a serious mistake in joining
> Tata Steel. These apart, he also spoke of having been let down by the
> company on various counts and not being provided manpower and resources he
> was promised when he joined.
>
> The Tata group has nurtured a long tradition of practising and upholding the
> highest standards of ethics and probity in public life. Nothing that we now
> do can redeem what has happened. But for the sake of justice, we would urge
> you to institute an inquiry into this matter.
>
>
>
> If nothing, it will help bring closure to a traumatic episode for Charu's
> family and his circle of friends. Equally importantly, an inquiry of this
> kind will go a long way to ensure episodes of this kind don't occur again.
>
>
>
> The all of us who have signed on this note would be willing to aid any
> inquiry process you choose to institute by providing evidence and witnesses
> with whom Charu had spoken to before his demise.
>
>
>
> We trust the both of you will do what is right.
>
>
>
> In anticipation,
>
>
>
> On behalf of
>
> Indrajit Gupta
>
> Gurbir Singh
>
> Charles Assisi
>
> Prince Mathews Thomas
>
> Dinesh Krishnan
>
> Cuckoo Paul
>
> T Surendar
>
> Debojyoti Chatterjee
>
> Dinesh Narayanan
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Mr. Gupta,
>
> Thank you for your communication of June 30th.
>
> I am deeply shocked at the sudden passing of Charudatta Deshpande. He was
> not formally with us at the time of his demise. But he was one of us in ways
> that go beyond the niceties of employment.
>
> We mourn for him and, at this time, our thoughts and prayers are with his
> family.
>
> You have referred in your letter to allegations about how he was treated in
> the last few weeks before his end. We take these allegations with the utmost
> seriousness. We have put in place an appropriate mechanism to look into
> these and take necessary action. Let me assure you the Tata group does not
> and will not condone any action of the kind insinuated in your letter.
>
> Thank you once again for getting in touch with us.
>
> With regards,
>
>
>
> With Regards,
>
> Cyrus Mistry
>
> Chairman | Tata Sons Ltd
>
> Bombay House|24 Homi Mody Street | Mumbai – 400001
>
>
>
>
> --
> rgds
> jyoti
>
> ---------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Secretary-Press Club, Mumbai <secretary@...>
> Date: 3 July 2013 02:21
> Subject: TATA SONS CHAIRMANASSURES INQUIRY INTO CHARU'S DEATH
> To: press club <secretary@...>
>
>
> Dear Member,
>
>
>
> You are aware Charudatta Deshpande, head of Corporate Communications of Tata
> Steel, passed away in strange circumstances. As a journalist in the 1990s
> and an active member of the PR fraternity, he was a close friend and a
> professional held in high regard by a lot of us. He took his own life, but
> the evidence emerging clearly points to his harassment and wrongdoing at his
> workplace.
>
>
>
> Several senior journalists and other friends felt he had become a victim of
> machinations at Tata Steel. to press their point, they wrote on 30 June,
> 2013, along with the prima facie evidence they had gathered, to Tata Group
> Chairman, Cyrus Mistry and Chairman Emeritus Ratan Tata demanding a full
> inquiry into Charu's death.
>
>
>
> Since then Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry has responded to the letter
> accepting the demand to hold an enquiry into Charu's death.
>
>
>
> Please find below both the letters - that demanding action and an inquiry by
> journalists; and the reply of Mr Mistry.
>
>
>
> Please let us know your comments and suggestions of what we can do in the
> matter.
>
>
>
> President
>
> Press Club, Mumbai
>
> ..................................................................................................................
>
>
>
> THE TWO LETTERS
>
>
>
> Mr Ratan Tata
>
> Chairman Emeritus
>
> Tata Group
>
> &
>
> Mr Cyrus Mistry
>
> Chairman
>
> Tata Group
>
> Dear Mr Tata and Mr Mistry,
>
> We write to you as the collective conscience of a group of friends and
> former colleagues of Charudatta Deshpande, a former Tata Steel employee, who
> committed suicide on Friday, June 28, 2013.
>
> From whatever evidence we have gathered until now on the back of
> conversations with Charudatta in the weeks leading to his demise, and with
> those who knew him closely, Charu was placed under enormous stress and
> subjected to harassment by officials at Tata Steel. Our understanding is it
> was this harassment that prompted him to commit suicide. This letter is an
> attempt to bring this episode to your attention and seek your intervention
> into instituting an urgent and independent inquiry into the matter.
>
> Charu was Head of Corporate Communications at Tata Steel. About a month ago,
> he resigned from the company. The events leading to his exit are relevant
> and we would like to place them before you for your consideration.
>
> In April, a few months into his new assignment, Forbes India magazine ran a
> cover story "Remoulding Tata Steel". The story is online here on
> http://forbesindia.com/article/boardroom/putting-the-shine-back-into-tata-steel/35049/0.
>
> It attempted to chronicle the challenges facing Tata Steel at a time when a
> crucial CEO succession drama was unfolding. The story was based on extensive
> and independent reporting that lasted more than five months. Soon after it
> appeared in print though, a distraught Charu got in touch with those of us
> at Forbes India and alleged officials at Tata Steel were placing the blame
> on him for "facilitating" a story they thought inimical to their interests.
>
> He added he was subsequently grounded for more than two weeks; that for all
> practical purposes was "under house arrest" in Jamshedpur; that his phones
> were being tapped; and that he was being subjected to enormous pressure to
> "admit" to his complicity in "leaking" confidential company documents to the
> media.
>
> Many of us have worked in the past at various newsrooms including at the
> Economic Times where he was a senior editor. We have also known him
> professionally in his stints as head of corporate communications at
> organisations such as ICICI Bank, Mahindra & Mahindra and Tata Steel.
>
>
>
> We remember him as a thorough professional who placed a premium on the
> interests of the organizations he worked for. Each one of us can personally
> vouch that in his interactions with us, he has never behaved irresponsibly
> or tried to damage the reputation of the firms he represented.
>
>
>
> Those of us who were at Forbes India when the story on Tata Steel was being
> researched are willing to testify on any forum that matters he conducted
> himself with integrity and responsibility.
>
>
>
> What we also know of the events that preceded his death are outlined below.
>
>
>
> 1. He was in discussions with officials at Adfactors PR, with whom he was
> negotiating employment prospects. He told them he was being called and
> threatened repeatedly by a 'mafia' - a term he used constantly; and that his
> cell phone was being tapped.
>
>
>
> 2. He had informed a friend that he was being bullied into signing some
> documents/bonds on June 29, a day before he took his life.
>
>
>
> 3. Immediately after the story appeared, he was in constant touch over the
> phone with Indrajit Gupta, the founding editor of Forbes India. He confided
> in Indrajit Gupta and spoke of being confined for over two weeks at
> Jamshedpur, being harassed after the story appeared in the magazine, was not
> allowed to travel without permission, and articulated his concerns about his
> cell phone being tapped. Despite being advised to escalate the matter to
> higher authorities, including the Tata Headquarters at Bombay House, Charu
> insisted it would be futile and make things worse for him.
>
> Whatever be the circumstances behind his exit, most of us assumed he would
> put the setback behind him and move on. However, he alleged the threatening
> phone calls he got even after exiting he company was causing him a lot of
> stress.
>
> What transpired after Charu passed away was even more despicable. Even as
> the news of his demise trickled in on Friday evening, there were concerted
> attempts made by Tata Steel officials and the PR agency to pass off his
> death as a heart attack, and not a suicide. A senior PR official even
> insisted that he had visited Charu's residence and confirmed the news of the
> heart attack, which turned out to be untrue. Some regional papers even
> hinted he had embezzled funds.
>
> We believe this is an attempt to tarnish the reputation of a senior
> professional and take the focus away from the root cause behind his untimely
> death.
>
> Discussions with Charu's family have revealed he had no personal problems or
> disputes there. His brother-in-law Mahesh said Charu was extremely disturbed
> and depressed in the month before he finally quit Tata Steel. Mahesh also
> spoke of Charu confiding in the family he made a serious mistake in joining
> Tata Steel. These apart, he also spoke of having been let down by the
> company on various counts and not being provided manpower and resources he
> was promised when he joined.
>
> The Tata group has nurtured a long tradition of practising and upholding the
> highest standards of ethics and probity in public life. Nothing that we now
> do can redeem what has happened. But for the sake of justice, we would urge
> you to institute an inquiry into this matter.
>
>
>
> If nothing, it will help bring closure to a traumatic episode for Charu's
> family and his circle of friends. Equally importantly, an inquiry of this
> kind will go a long way to ensure episodes of this kind don't occur again.
>
>
>
> The all of us who have signed on this note would be willing to aid any
> inquiry process you choose to institute by providing evidence and witnesses
> with whom Charu had spoken to before his demise.
>
>
>
> We trust the both of you will do what is right.
>
>
>
> In anticipation,
>
>
>
> On behalf of
>
> Indrajit Gupta
>
> Gurbir Singh
>
> Charles Assisi
>
> Prince Mathews Thomas
>
> Dinesh Krishnan
>
> Cuckoo Paul
>
> T Surendar
>
> Debojyoti Chatterjee
>
> Dinesh Narayanan
>
>
>
>
>
> Dear Mr. Gupta,
>
> Thank you for your communication of June 30th.
>
> I am deeply shocked at the sudden passing of Charudatta Deshpande. He was
> not formally with us at the time of his demise. But he was one of us in ways
> that go beyond the niceties of employment.
>
> We mourn for him and, at this time, our thoughts and prayers are with his
> family.
>
> You have referred in your letter to allegations about how he was treated in
> the last few weeks before his end. We take these allegations with the utmost
> seriousness. We have put in place an appropriate mechanism to look into
> these and take necessary action. Let me assure you the Tata group does not
> and will not condone any action of the kind insinuated in your letter.
>
> Thank you once again for getting in touch with us.
>
> With regards,
>
>
>
> With Regards,
>
> Cyrus Mistry
>
> Chairman | Tata Sons Ltd
>
> Bombay House|24 Homi Mody Street | Mumbai – 400001
>
>
>
>
> --
> rgds
> jyoti
__._,_.___
| Reply via web post | Reply to sender | Reply to group | Start a New Topic | Messages in this topic (2) |
Please visit http://www.prpoint.com (for useful PR resource materials) and http://www.primepointfoundation.org (non profit trust for promotion of PR)and http://www.imageaudit.com (about Image Audit)and http://www.indiavision2020.org (on India Vision)
.
__,_._,___
No comments:
Post a Comment