Yet another software firm shuts down in Hyderabad.

HYDERABAD: Yet another software company, third in a span of one month, shut down shop, duping 200-odd its employees in the city on Sunday.

In 2009, an MCA graduate, Shaik Umer Ali of Palakollu along with his associate Saleem Baba launched a software company, Task Informatics, with a corporate office at Shivam Road. In January, 2011, they started another branch at Arunodaya Colony in Madhapur and a few months ago began recruiting staff. At the time of recruitment, the management charged between Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.2 lakh for each employee by promising them a salary of Rs 8,000 per month.

As they had not received salary for the last four months, the employees became suspicious about the intentions of the management and started questioning their CEO Puneet. A series of talks have been going on between the employees and the management for the past few weeks. Till Saturday night, the management tried to pacify their 235 employees by promising to give them salaries. However, as the salary was not been debited into their accounts even on Sunday, some of them went to the Madhapur office to inquire about it. The employees met their MD Umer Ali and CEO Puneet at the office and the duo made it clear to the employees that they were not in a position to pay salaries.

Angry employees roughed up the duo and damaged some furniture at the office. Meanwhile, police reached the spot and took the duo into custody. “Since four months, we have not received salary and Puneet kept on assuring us that it will be paid soon,” Suresh, one of the victims, told TOI.

The management claimed that apart from two offices in the city they have two more offices in Bangalore and Pune and police are verifying about these branches. “The management collected about Rs 80 lakh from the employees. Based on the complaint lodged by the employees, a cheating case was booked against Umer Ali, Saleem, Puneet and others under section 420 of the IPC,” Madhapur inspector K Srinath Reddy said.

Source : TOI