Tripti’s complaint has dragged Azim Premji’s (top) Wipro to court

Lucknow, Nov. 25: A magazine article on companies’ fight against attrition lies behind IT major Wipro being dragged to court for allegedly paying employees a “dating allowance”.

Tripti Nigam had wondered for years why husband Gaurav, a software engineer with Wipro and posted in the US, wouldn’t let her stay with him. The first clue, she says, came as she flipped through a Hindi weekly.

“An article in the November 22 issue of the magazine, titled ‘Jode rakhne ki jugat me jute (bid to keep the partnership going)’ opened my eyes. It said companies were paying talented employees, who they feared might be poached by rivals, an allowance to date co-workers so they wouldn’t think of leaving.”

The 30-year-old, who claims her in-laws have thrown her out, had earlier moved court under the new domestic violence law. On Wednesday, she filed a new case claiming Gaurav left her because Wipro paid him a “dating allowance”.

The article, Tripti claims, describes how the allowance has led to office affairs and broken marriages.

“I am a sufferer. My husband wouldn’t let me live with him. I believe his illicit relationships were the reason,” she said.

The article, however, names a different company in connection with the “dating allowance”, and quotes one of its executives as saying: “The idea is to fulfil the basic needs of the young employees.”

Wipro, the article says, offers employees who want to quit a chance to relocate themselves in another department. It describes other anti-attrition strategies adopted by IT firms, such as entertainment programmes during breaks or “parenting holidays” for fathers.

But Tripti insisted: “I have evidence to prove that Wipro, too, pays a dating allowance. But I won’t show my hand now; I’ll do that in court.”

A Kanpur magistrate has summoned Gaurav, Wipro chairman Azim Premji and the company’s vice-president, Pratik Kumar. The IT firm yesterday denied paying any of its staff a “dating allowance”.

Tripti, an MSc in organic chemistry, married Gaurav in 2002 and came to live with him in Lucknow from her home in Kanpur.

“But Gaurav was transferred to Bangalore in less than a month. My in-laws would take me to Bangalore only on short trips. I pleaded with Gaurav to let me stay with him, but he wouldn’t,” she said.

In 2004, Gaurav was sent to the US. By then, Tripti was pregnant with her now two-year-old son, Pulkit. She says that by the end of that year, her in-laws drove her out and in 2006, Gaurav filed for divorce.

Gaurav’s parents and relatives deny the charges. They claim Tripti had never wanted to stay in Lucknow and became impatient after Gaurav left for the US.

Tripti now stays in Kanpur with her mother. Her father died recently.