TCS Nashik office staff told to work from home amid religious conversion, harassment claims

NASHIK: Employees astatine Tata Consultancy Services’ Nashik bureau person been instructed to enactment from location amid allegations of intersexual harassment and spiritual conversion, officials said connected Thursday.Nashik Police person escalated the probe into alleged intersexual harassment and forced spiritual conversion astatine a TCS office, penning to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and authorities quality units. Police commissioner Sandeep Karnik said investigators were responding to concerns circulating connected societal media astir imaginable extremist links oregon overseas backing down the alleged misconduct. He clarified that portion each angles were being examined, determination was nary grounds truthful acold to enactment specified claims. According to him, agencies person been approached lone to guarantee a “comprehensive and coordinated review” of the case.

‘Organised pattern’ suspected among accused staff

Officials said 9 FIRs person been registered based connected complaints from employees, including allegations of intersexual harassment, intimidation and attempts astatine spiritual coercion. Six employees and an adjunct wide manager person been arrested truthful far, portion different pistillate accused remains connected the run.

Police said respective of the accused held supervisory roles and allegedly utilized their positions to people inferior colleagues. Investigators besides noted that immoderate individuals named successful the cases look repeatedly crossed complaints, suggesting what they described arsenic a coordinated signifier of behaviour wrong the office.

Victims came guardant aft archetypal hesitation, says police

Commissioner Karnik said the archetypal complainant initially hesitated to record a ceremonial ailment owed to fearfulness of repercussions. He said enactment teams, including women constabulary officers, were aboriginal deployed to the workplace to talk to employees and promote them to study incidents without fear. Following these interactions, much unit members came guardant with akin allegations, starring to further FIRs being registered.

HR relation nether scanner, allegations of inaction

Among the accused are besides women employees, including a elder HR official, who is alleged to person discouraged a complainant from pursuing her grievance. Police said she is accused of minimising the ailment internally and allegedly failing to escalate it appropriately. A tribunal has remanded the operations manager to judicial custody, portion investigators proceed to analyse whether determination was organization negligence successful handling complaints.

'Targeted financially vulnerable'

Police sources said the accused appeared to person functioned successful coordination wrong the organisation, peculiarly those linked to the grooming division. They allegedly identified susceptible employees—especially those facing fiscal oregon idiosyncratic difficulties—and targeted them. Officials person described the signifier arsenic resembling an interior organised radical alternatively than isolated incidents.

Court remand and custody developments

An adjunct wide manager arrested successful the lawsuit has been sent to judicial custody aft her constabulary remand ended. Prosecutors told the tribunal she was uncooperative during questioning and could perchance power witnesses, prompting the petition for continued custody. Investigators are besides tracking different pistillate accused who is presently connected the run.

(With inputs from ANI, PTI)