TCS Nashik employees work from home during harassment investigation
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) requested its employees at the Nashik office to work from home on Thursday as a precautionary measure for their convenience and safety amid allegations of religious conversion and sexual harassment. Sources confirmed that the decision was made prioritising employee safety.
The move coincides with an ongoing police investigation into claims of religious conversion and sexual harassment at the TCS Nashik facility. Earlier on Thursday, several women organised a ‘Ranragini Jan Akrsoh’ bike rally to highlight these issues.
BJP MLA Devayani Farande stated, “Pressuring Hindu girls to hold roza and offer namaz, raping them, and converting them is against the Constitution of India. Such individuals should have their nationality revoked. They should be charged with treason and sentenced to death. Their property should be sealed, and bulldozer action should be taken over their homes.”
According to police, the accused at the Nashik TCS branch allegedly ignored repeated complaints from victims and failed to escalate them to higher authorities within the company. HR Manager Nida Khan is considered the alleged ‘mastermind’ who attempted to suppress complaints and shield the accused. Authorities have recovered approximately 78 suspicious call records, emails, and chat messages exchanged between the accused and have found evidence of possible financial transactions.
Police report that Nida Khan repeatedly instructed victims to drop the matter and took no substantial action despite being a member of the POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) Committee.
Thus far, nine cases have been registered concerning the incident: one at Deolali Camp police station and eight at Mumbai Naka. A total of nine complaints have been filed, including one by a male individual, alleging harassment, torture, and forced religious conversion.
On Wednesday, Ashwini Chainani, Operations Manager at TCS, was presented before the court and remanded to 14 days of judicial custody.
Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran ordered an internal investigation, describing the allegations as “gravely concerning and anguishing.” In a statement, he said the matter was being treated with the “utmost seriousness” and that action had already been taken against the accused employees. Chandrasekaran added that the company was providing full cooperation to ongoing investigations.
“The Tata Group maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of coercion or misconduct by its employees,” the statement said, adding that a thorough probe was underway to establish facts and identify all responsible individuals.
