Bengaluru police have registered a case against Infosys co-founder Senapathy Gopalakrishnan, more known as Kris Gopalakrishnan and 17 others, under the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act, reports said on January 27.
We take a look at who is Gopalakrishnan, what happened, what the case is.
What is the Case Against Kris Gopalakrishnan About?
The Sadashiva Nagar police station in Bengaluru registered against Gopalakrishnan, former IISc Director Balaram and 16 others under the Prevention of SC/ST Atrocities Act based on the directions of the 71st city civil and session court (CCH).
Why Is Case Under SC/ST Atrocities Act Filed?
The Court direction came after complainant, Durgappa, from the tribal Bovi community, and faculty member at the Centre for Sustainable Technology at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) claimed that in 2014, he was falsely implicated in a honey trap case and subsequently dismissed from service.
Durgappa alleged that he was also subjected to casteist abuse and threats by those named in his complaint, which includes Gopalakrishnan.
Other accused in the case include Govindan Rangarajan, Sridhar Warrier, Sandya Vishwswaraih, Hari KVS, Dasappa, Balaram P, Hemalata Mhishi, Chattopadyaya K, Pradeep D Sawkar, and Manoharan.
What Now?
There was no immediate reaction from the IISc faculty or from Kris Gopalakrishnan, who also serves as a member of the IISc Board of Trustees, according to a PTI report.
Who is Kris Gopalakrishnan?
One of the original co-founders of Infosys, 69-year-old ‘Kris’ as Gopalakrishnan prefers to be called, was the CEO and MD of Infosys between 2007 and 2011. After that, he served as Vice Chairman of the company till 2014.
At present, he is the Chairman of start-up accelerator Axilor Ventures. The company has invested in startups such as EnKash, GoodHome and Kaagaz, among others, according to a Hindustan Times report.
Along with his wife Sudha Gopalakrishnan, they have a philanthropic organisation called Pratiksha Trust, which focuses on brain research.
He is at present also on the Board of Governors at his alma mater IIT-Madras (as member) and IIT-Bangalore (as Chairman), and is on the Board of Trustee at the Chennai Mathematical Institute, as per the Infosys website.
He was conferred with India’s third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan in 2011.
Gopalakrishnan has Master’s Degrees in physics and computer science from IIT-Madras. In a 2009 interaction with Mint, he said that he would have become a doctor instead of a businessman, and recalled his parents’ wish that he study medicine as there were no doctors in their extended family.