Weeks after she went into hiding, a female employee of the TCS unit in Nashik, accused in a case related to alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment of some women colleagues, has been arrested. Nida Khan was held on Thursday in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police is probing nine cases of molestation and harassment at the IT major’s Nashik unit. Khan is an accused in crime register number 156/26 at Deolali Camp police station, he said.
It had arrested eight persons, including a female operations manager, by registering nine FIRs after allegations of exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation, and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit came to light.
The SIT had launched a search for Khan in different parts of Maharashtra. She is accused of targeting employees in a WhatsApp group, pressuring them to pray and eat non-vegetarian food. FIR states that she allegedly advised women employees to dress and behave in accordance with Islamic traditions. Some complainants have also alleged that they were coerced or pressured into adopting religious practices, including praying, changing dietary habits, and adopting religious symbols.
Besides Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions for sexual harassment and defamation, Khan has also been booked under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the complainant belongs to a Scheduled Caste.
On April 18, she had moved the Nashik court seeking anticipatory bail and interim protection from arrest pending the plea hearing, citing her pregnancy. The court rejected her anticipatory bail plea on May 2.
TCS has clarified that it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form, and the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office have been suspended.
