Centre To Probe Death Of EY India Executive Anna Sebastian Perayil
Union Labour Minister Shobha Karandlaje said the government has taken up the complaint regarding the conditions that led to the death of former EY India executive Anna Sebastian Perayil, allegedly due to work pressure. She also added that a thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway.
“Deeply saddened by the tragic loss of Anna Sebastian Perayil. A thorough investigation into the allegations of an unsafe and exploitative work environment is underway. We are committed to ensuring justice and Labour Ministry has officially taken up the complaint,” the minister said.
The minister responded to the issue after former Union minister and BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar tagged her and Mansukh Mandviya in an X post regarding the death of the Chartered Accountant.
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“This is very sad but also disturbing at many levels. I request Government of India @mansukhmandviya @ShobhaBJP
to investigate these allegations made by the mother of unsafe and exploitative work environment that claimed the life of young , full of future Anna Sebastian Perayil,” Chandrasekhar wrote.
The death of 26-year-old Chartered Accountant Anna Sebastian Perayil has raised serious concerns about the corporate culture in general and EY India in specific. Anna, who joined EY’s Pune office in March 2024, died just four months later, allegedly due to excessive work pressure. Her grieving mother, Anita Augustine, has written an open letter to Rajiv Memani, Chairman of EY India, holding the firm responsible for her daughter’s untimely death.
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In response, EY India released a statement expressing their condolences and acknowledging the tragic loss. “We are deeply saddened by Anna Sebastian’s tragic and untimely passing in July 2024, and our deepest condolences go to the bereaved family. Anna was a part of the Audit team at S R Batliboi, a member firm of EY Global, in Pune for a brief period of four months, joining the firm on March 18, 2024. That her promising career was cut short in this tragic manner is an irreparable loss for all of us,” the statement read.
Read also: “We Have Provided All The Assistance…”: EY India Responds To CA Anna Sebastian Perayil’s Death
Anita’s letter, which went viral and was part of discourse online and offline for the last 24 hours, paints a heartbreaking picture of Anna’s last few months at the firm, describing her daughter as “full of life, dreams, and excitement” when she first joined EY. Anna had recently passed her CA exams in November 2023, and EY was her first job. According to her mother, Anna soon found herself overwhelmed by the relentless work demands, leading to anxiety, sleepless nights, and deteriorating health. Despite these red flags, Anna continued to work late nights and weekends, believing hard work would secure her future.
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“She worked late into the night, even on weekends, with no opportunity to catch her breath,” Anita wrote. The breaking point came during Anna’s CA Convocation in July, when her parents travelled from Kochi to Pune to attend the ceremony. Even on that day, Anna was working from home until the afternoon. “It was my daughter’s great dream to take her parents to her convocation with her own hard-earned money. She booked our flight tickets and took us. It breaks my heart to tell you that even during those two days, which were the last we would spend with our child, she couldn’t enjoy them because of the work pressure,” Anita recalled.
