Seven arrested in Nashik TCS BPO case, Tata Group chief raises concern

Seven persons have been arrested in connection with allegations of sexual harassment and forced religious conversion at a BPO unit of Tata Consultancy Services in Nashik, while a key accused remains absconding, police said on Tuesday.

The accused on the run has been identified as Nida Khan, an assistant general manager in the human resources department, who is alleged to have ignored complaints. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted and is using technical surveillance to trace her.

Officials said the probe involved an undercover operation in which police personnel posed as housekeeping staff to gather evidence. Preliminary findings indicated that complaints of harassment by female employees were not acted upon by the HR department.

Nine FIRs have been registered based on complaints alleging sexual harassment, rape on the pretext of marriage, coercion and forced religious conversion.

Police said at least seven individuals, including team leaders and HR staff, have been arrested so far based on intelligence inputs received by the Nashik Police Commissioner’s office.

The accused arrested so far are Danish Sheikh, Tousif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Asif Ansari, Shafi Sheikh and Ashwini Chainani.

The company has suspended the employees named in the case and said it follows a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of misconduct.

Gravely concerning and anguishing: Tata Group chief

Chairman of the Tata Group Natarajan Chandrasekaran described the allegations as “gravely concerning and anguishing”, and said the matter was being treated with utmost seriousness.

In a statement, Chandrasekaran said action had already been initiated against the accused employees and the company was extending full cooperation to the ongoing investigation.

A human resources official based in Pune is also being questioned as part of the probe

The Nashik police have formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the Deolali Camp and Mumbai Naka Police Stations by clubbing the entire case, even as the police have appealed to victims to come up and lodge complaints.