In February this year, when a local political party worker in Nashik, located 180 km north of Mumbai, approached the Nashik City police alleging that a Hindu woman in her early 20s working at a BPO unit of TCS there was observing fasts during Ramzan, it would set off a series of events that would end with nine FIRs ranging from allegations of sexual abuse and religious conversion, seven employees being placed under arrest, and a pause in the unit’s operations. On Monday, N Chandrasekaran, the Tata Sons chairman, said a thorough investigation is underway to ascertain what transpired.
According to the police, the local political party worker told them that the woman had been influenced to follow the teachings of Islam at her workplace, where “something amiss” was going on. Police did not disclose which party the worker is affiliated with.
When the police contacted her family, the girl’s parents said they had stopped her from going to work after she started observing fasts and living “in an Islamic manner”, an officer, who was part of the team assigned to probe the matter, said on condition of anonymity. It was then that they decided to investigate what was happening at the 147-employee BPO.
“We got some of our constables hired there as housekeeping staff to keep an eye on what was happening,” the officer said. “After two weeks of our people – both men and women – working there, we felt their probe had revealed enough to take action,” the officer said.
“We registered the first FIR on charges of rape in the case of the woman who had observed fasts. She was in a relationship with a now-arrested accused, Danish Shaikh, who allegedly hid the fact that he was already married. In February, a month before the FIR, Danish’s wife had messaged the woman and then told her on a call that he was married and had two children,” the officer said. “The rape case was registered since he had established sexual relations with the woman with the promise to marry her. Also, the section on hurting religious sentiments was added as he influenced her to follow his religion.”
ACP (Crime) Sandeep Mitke, heading the Special Investigation Team (SIT) in the case, said that they first arrested Danish and his friend Tousif Attar for allegedly seeking sexual favours from the woman. When police checked Tousif’s phone, they allegedly found a photograph of a Hindu colleague wearing Muslim attire.
“It was the questioning of this man (from the photo) that led to the second FIR and the names of more accused being added,” Mitke said, adding that the man claimed the accused would argue with him about his religious practises and promote Islamic teachings.
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The lawyers for the arrested accused, who have been suspended by the company in the wake of the allegations, claimed that things said in jest and people’s voluntary choices have been criminalised to deflect attention from other issues plaguing Nashik.
Lawyer Baba Sayyad, who, along with Rahul Kasliwal, is representing four of the six accused, said, “These are flimsy allegations. During Eid, even my non-Muslim friends who visit home come dressed in sherwanis. That does not mean that they are being converted.”
“The police say they (the accused) said wrong things about the religion of the victim. But one can have discussions about various things, including religion, and that does not mean that the intention is to influence the other person,” he said.
Police claimed they had leads about other women allegedly being harassed at the workplace, too. “Initially, women were not willing to complain as they had no clue we had arrested the accused in the first case. Later, we found a few more cases where molestation and attempts to influence the other’s religion were found. In all, nine FIRs were registered, which included six where influencing religion was included, between March 26 and April 3,” Mitke said.
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Seven of the nine FIRs had similar content, where women employees alleged personal comments about their married lives, inappropriate touch, obscene advances, double-meaning comments, and increased workload if they did not play along.
In all, eight accused – six men and two women – including a Pune-based operations manager, were named, and seven persons have been arrested. One Nida Khan is absconding, with the police saying she is accused of explaining to women how to pray.
The arrested accused have been identified as Shafi Shaikh (34), Asif Ansari (22), Tausif Attar (36), Shahrukh Qureshi (34), Raza Memon (35), Danish Shaikh (34) and Ashwini Chainani.
“We have not found an organised conspiracy or the accused acting on someone else’s instructions to carry out conversions,” Mitke said. “Tausif, after undertaking a religious visit two years ago, became religious and influenced the other accused, who then influenced others still. It was their own religious zeal that led them to influence those working around them. There was no external factor or conspiracy driving them.”
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Sayyad, the lawyer, said, “If you see the FIRs, some of it mentions the person complimenting a victim – that she looks good in a saree – or other personal discussion related to their families. These people work around each other for several hours each day, and one can develop a bond. Since when has complementing someone or discussing personal issues become a crime?”
Regarding the operations manager, Mitke said she has been arrested because some of the victims allegedly filed oral complaints against the accused, but no action was taken. “While no written complaint was given, the manager was on the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) committee, where even a verbal complaint is enough to take action,” Mitke said.
When The Indian Express visited the BPO office, there were only a few security guards and no employees.
According to the police, most of the accused held senior positions, such as team leaders, while the complainants worked on their teams. Most of the victims are said to be in the age group of 18-25 and earn between Rs 18,000 and Rs 25,000.
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On Monday, Chainani was produced before the court and remanded to police custody till Thursday, while the other six accused are currently in judicial custody.
The statement by Chandrasekaran said, “The complaints and allegations emerging from the Nashik branch have been gravely concerning and anguishing. This incident is being treated with the utmost seriousness. Action has already been initiated against the accused employees, and the company is extending its full cooperation to the ongoing investigations.”
“The group maintains a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of coercion or misconduct by its employees. A thorough investigation is underway to establish the facts and identify all individuals responsible for this situation. Ms Aarthi Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer at TCS, will lead this investigation. Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty,” it said.
