'She Hardly Slept': Father of EY Employee Who Died of Alleged Overwork

Kochi: Sibi Joseph, the father of 26-year-old EY employee Anna Sebastian, who died due to excessive workload, said his daughter was "hardly getting any sleep and was unable to eat proper food," as quoted by news agency IANS.

He further mentioned that Anna’s mother had advised her to quit, but "she said she would continue to work... as this is a reputed firm."

Joseph also revealed that an audit of Bajaj Auto kept Anna busy well past midnight each day, and "she used to return to her paying guest accommodation by 1:30 am."

He told IANS, "She used to complain about this often... it reached a point where we told her to quit, but she said she would continue to work. In July, we took her to a cardiologist, and after a check-up, he said she was healthy but lacked proper sleep and nutrition."

Joseph described his daughter as an active person, who used to play badminton and jog with him when she was home. "She cleared her CA in February this year and joined the firm in March. We spoke to her every day, and her main complaint was the extreme work pressure. She was engaged in an audit of Bajaj Auto, often working until 12:30 at night and returning to her accommodation by 1:30 am," he added.

"My wife wrote a letter to the chairman, urging that even though our daughter is gone, such a tragedy should not happen to anyone else. We are not planning to take any legal action against the company," Joseph said.

However, Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Shobha Karandlaje, has assured that the matter will be investigated.