Top News

Nashik: A local court on Monday, July 5, granted bail to TCS employee Nida Khan in one of the alleged sexual harassment and religious conversion cases at the software company’s unit at Nashik in north Maharashtra, two months after her arrest.

Additional Sessions Judge (Nashik Road Court) K G Joshi, who granted bail to Khan, however, refused a similar relief to her co-accused Danish Shaikh.

Khan, represented by advocate Rahul Kasliwal, sought bail primarily on the ground that she was pregnant.

Public Prosecutor Vijay Gaikwad, along with the victim’s lawyers Milind Kurkute and Nitin Pandit, opposed the bail pleas of Khan and Shaikh.

Their contention was that evidence of sexual assault and religious coercion came to the fore during the investigation of the case.

The prosecution submitted that Shaikh gave an Islamic book and burqa to the victim, a co-worker, with the motive of religious conversion.

All these suggest that the victim was sexually exploited intentionally and efforts for her religious conversion were made, they said.

The prosecution claimed that the accused, despite knowing that the victim was from a Scheduled Caste, attempted to convert her.

The specific case pertains to the FIR registered by the Deolali Camp police station under the BNS provisions 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means etc), 65 (sexual harassment) and 299 (outrage religious feelings).

The duo was also booked under relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police is probing a total of nine cases registered in connection with the alleged exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit in the north Maharashtra city.

After the cases came to light, TCS clarified that it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time, and the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office have been suspended.