The Nashik police have registered nine FIRs and arrested eight employees of a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-linked BPO unit in a case of alleged rape, systemic sexual harassment, and organised religious coercion.
However, the family of 26-year-old Nida Khan, who has been labeled as the 'absconding mastermind' behind alleged religious conversion attempts, has come forward to dispute these claims.
They allege foul play and digital harassment based on mere claims, and claim that Nida Khan is currently at her home in Mumbai, expecting her first child, and is not 'on the run'.
The police had conducted a 40-day undercover operation at the BPO facility, which corroborated the initial reports of misconduct, triggering formal police action.
The allegations extend beyond sexual abuse to religious coercion, with complainants alleging that colleagues tried to convince them of the merits of Islam over Hinduism.
The National Investigating Agency (NIA), the state intelligence department (SID), and the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) have been contacted to assist the Special Investigation Team (SIT) due to the potential for extremist connections or foreign funding.
TCS has terminated seven of the eight arrested employees and stated it has a zero-tolerance policy towards such conduct, but the police are investigating why none of the victims felt empowered to use the company's Internal Complaints Committee (ICC) against sexual abuse.
