Nashik: The investigation into alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment at a Nashik branch of an IT giant suggests that seven male accused operated like an organised gang to target female employees, a senior officer has said.
Police have registered nine cases in connection with the allegations. While seven men and a woman have been arrested, one female accused is on the run.
Explaining the role of the two female accused, Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik said on Wednesday that the operations and HR head of the unit had allegedly discouraged a victim from submitting a complaint, saying “these things happen” and sided with the accused.
In a related development, the Nashik court on Wednesday remanded the female operations manager in judicial custody till April 28.
Responding to reports speculating involvement of any extremist organisation or funding from abroad for the accused, the police commissioner said a thorough investigation is underway, and the police have written to the SID, ATS and NIA.
“As and when we get some evidence, we will be able to come to a conclusion about the same,” he added.
He said nine cases registered by the police include a complaint lodged by a male employee of the firm, alleging an attempt at religious conversion and religious harassment at the workplace.
Earlier this week, the police formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the complaints lodged by eight female employees, who claimed that senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them, while the human resources department ignored their complaints.
Police have arrested eight employees of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), including seven men and the female operations manager. Another female employee is absconding, according to investigators.
The male accused are identified as Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansar, and Shahrukh Sheikh.
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran had termed sexual harassment as “gravely concerning and anguishing”, and announced that a thorough investigation is underway under TCS’s Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian to establish the facts and identify individuals responsible for the situation.
“Nine FIRs have been registered in Nashik involving allegations of attempted religious conversion, sexual harassment, and religious harassment at the workplace. The accused—nine in total, including seven men and two women—held positions of authority such as team leaders and allegedly misused their roles to harass co-workers,” Karnik said.
The seven male staffers are co-accused in most of the cases, suggesting they operated as a group or organised gang within the office, the official said.
One female accused is named in a single case of religious harassment, while another, an HR head, is accused of discouraging a victim from filing a complaint.
“Police are conducting a thorough investigation and have contacted agencies like the SID, ATS, and NIA to examine any possible wider links. Initially, the first complainant was hesitant, but after receiving support and counselling from the police, more victims came forward, leading to multiple FIRs being registered,” he added.
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Karnik said a woman DCP (deputy commissioner of police) and some female police personnel were sent to the office to conduct an inquiry.
When they interacted with the staff and tried to counsel everyone, the other complainants came forward, he added.
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