COVID – 19(Corona Virus) is an infectious disease caused by a new virus. The disease was first identified in 2019 in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei, China, and has since spread globally, resulting in the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic.
In order to control the spread of the deadly virus, the Indian government has imposed a 21-day lockdown in the country and is urging people to avoid all ‘non-essential’ travel. While the entire world is making people aware about the precautions that must be taken against this disease, an employee of Infosys Company Ltd. was fired after making an inappropriate social media post.
Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational corporation that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. It has its headquarters in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
Infosys is the second-largest Indian IT company after Tata Consultancy Services by 2017 revenue and 596th largest public company in the world based on revenue. On March 29, 2019, its market capitalisation was $46.52 billion. The credit rating of the company is A− (rating by Standard & Poor’s).
Infosys had a total of 243,454 employees at the end of December 2019, out of which 37.8% were women. Out of its total workforce, 229,658 are software professionals and remaining 13,796 works for support and sales.
The City Crime Branch (CCB) of Bangalore arrested Mujeeb Mohammed, a software engineer working at the Infosys Company Ltd., Bangalore.
Mujeeb Mohammad had posted on his Facebook account, “Let’s join hands, go out and sneeze with open mouth in public. Spread the virus.”
Infosys on 26th March, 2020 said it is deeply concerned with an “inappropriate post” on social media related to the coronavirus outbreak being attributed to a company employee, and vowed to take necessary action based on its investigation.
In a tweet from its official handle, Infosys said, “We are deeply concerned with an inappropriate post being attributed to an Infosys employee. We strongly reaffirm our commitment to responsible social-sharing”.
Further, the company said its preliminary enquiry, and discussions with its employee “suggest that this could be a case of a mistaken identity”.
“However, given the seriousness with which we take such matters, we are investigating this further and will also assist with any independent investigation. The company would take appropriate action based on its investigation,” it stated.
Mujeeb Mohammed, who appealed to the public to sneeze in public places to spread coronavirus has been sacked, Infosys said in a statement. He was arrested on the night of 27th March, 2020 by the Bangalore police. The Bangalore police have also lodged an FIR accusing him of creating alarm and fear among the public. Mujeeb Mohammed has been booked under Section 505 (making statements which cause alarm or fear in public, and also inciting and provokes others) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police picked up Mohammed, 38, from his residence in the city’s northern suburb and seized two mobile phones and a laptop from his possession. Mohammed has been a resident of this city for 25 years. The police are yet to find any incriminating material from his gadgets.
The accused was produced in a local court on 28th March, 2020 which remanded him to police custody for seven days for interrogation and investigation into the cyber crime.
“As Mohammed is in our custody, we will interrogate him to ascertain why he posted such a tweet,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police Kuldeep Jain.
“Mohammed did not give any reason for such a post but casually said ‘I just felt like posting it’. He was very casual,” added Jain.
After the post, Mohammed gained notoriety in the midst of the global Covid-19 pandemic, creating a flutter on social media and in the office of his employer.
The 25-year-old, who works in Infosys, has been sacked by the company for his ‘inappropriate post’ on social media related to the coronavirus outbreak.
After investigating into the case, Infosys tweeted, “Infosys has completed its investigation on the social media post by one of its employees, and we believe that this is not a case of mistaken identity.”
In another tweet, Infosys condemned the social media post as violation of Infosys’ code of conduct and its commitment to responsible social sharing. Bangalore headquartered IT giant also categorically stated that it has terminated the employee in question.
