Nashik : A massive controversy has erupted in Maharashtra’s Nashik after multiple women employees of IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) alleged sexual harassment and attempts at religious conversion at the workplace by their team leaders. Several FIRs have been registered across police stations in Maharashtra, including one of rape, and at least six people have been arrested.
The BJP is alleging that the Nashik case is an instance of “corporate jihad”.In the FIRs, the employees were accused of molesting the women and trying to convert them. The alleged incidents, reported by women aged between 18 and 25, are said to have taken place over a period of two to three years, beginning around 2022, reported Pravin B Thakare for India Today from Nashik on April 9.
Six accused, many of them team leaders and engineers, have been arrested, while others remain under investigation.
Those arrested include Asif Ansari, Shafi Shaikh, Shahrukh Qureshi, Raza Memon and Tausif Attar. Another employee, Ashwin Chainani, has been arrested, reported news agency ANI. Police are also on the hunt for another HR official, according to reports.
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan said “four to five Muslim company workers and some officers lured the girls by promising them jobs and good salaries”. He claimed that the women were “made to offer namaz and keep roza”.
The company, TCS, said in a statement that it maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” and that the employees under probe have been suspended. However, questions remain over why earlier complaints to the HR allegedly went unaddressed.
The police have formed a 12-member SIT under an ACP-rank officer, and say the probe is based on both technical and physical evidence.
The case has also triggered political reactions. BJP workers staged protests in Nashik demanding strict action, while its leader, Bandi Sanjay Kumar, calling it a case of “corporate jihad”, warned that “such warning signs shouldn’t be ignored”.
Former MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi raised concerns over workplace safety and slammed the TCS over its response, which she called “inadequate and casually dismissive”.
India Today Digital on Monday, April 13, reached out to TCS seeking additional inputs and clarification on the allegations and the company’s response. The report will be updated as and when fresh, detailed inputs are received. The TCS’s initial statement has been used for now in the report.
WHAT HAPPENED IN NASHIK? DID TEAM LEADS RUN A CONVERSION RACKET AT TCS?
The case, involving alleged sexual exploitation, religious conversion, molestation, and mental harassment of women employees at a well-known multinational company in Nashik came to light last week. The company has now been identified as TCS and it has issued a statement.
At Nashik’s Deolali police station, a case has been registered against two accused of rape, molestation, and harassment. Meanwhile, eight separate cases have been registered at Mumbai Naka police station in Nashik district, reported Pravin B Thakare for India Today on April 9.
Complainants allege that five individuals within the company created an atmosphere of religious conversion, which led to tension and conflict at the workplace. Eight women victims have filed complaints, alleging that they were physically harassed at different work locations. They were subjected to comments about their physique and clothing, and also faced remarks which hurt their religious sentiments.
The men zeroed in on the women and targeted them using their marital issues, some media outlets reported.
The harassment is said to have continued for two to three years. Victims reportedly claimed they approached the company’s HR earlier, but no action was taken. A case has also been registered against a female HR official from the company’s Pune office.
Five of the accused are said to be team leaders and engineers.
Not just women, a male employee was also allegedly brainwashed and pressured to convert. He was forced to perform specific religious rituals, and consume non-vegetarian food.
The rape accused is reportedly married and allegedly trapped the victim in a romantic relationship.
The Police have registered one case of hurting religious sentiments, one rape case, four molestation cases, and three combined cases of molestation and religious offence. Eight cases are with Mumbai Naka police station and one with Deolali police station.
ACP Sandeep Mitke on April 10 told news agency ANI, “In Case No 163/2016, the name of the suspected accused is Ashwin Chainani. He was produced before the court today. The court has remanded him to police custody until April 13, 2026. The other six accused individuals are currently in MCR (Magisterial Custody Remand); we intend to take them into police custody after obtaining their transfer warrants.”
WHAT HAS TCS SAID ON THE NASHIK CASE?
The company spokesperson said that the “TCS has a long-standing zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form”.
“We have always ensured the highest standards of safety and wellbeing of our employees at the workplace. As soon as we were made aware of the matter in Nashik, we took swift action. The employees being investigated have been suspended pending enquiry. We are cooperating with the local law enforcement authorities, and any further action will be based on the conclusion of this investigation,” TCS said in a statement.
However, the statement has raised questions over what former Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi called a “deaf tone approach”. Chaturvedi said the statement was a “huge let down and disappointing”.
The TCS statement didn’t detail what constitutes “harassment and coercion” in the “Nashik case” they mentioned.
India Today Digital asked TCS, through two separate channels, when it first received formal complaints from employees and why those concerns were not acted upon earlier by the company, as reported by Pravin B Thakare.
We also sought details on whether an internal probe was initiated and what action, if any, was taken against the accused. We also asked if the company’s reference to “harassment and coercion” includes the alleged sexual exploitation and religious conversion mentioned in the police complaints.
Additionally, we requested clarity on how many individuals have faced action, the nature of that action, and the type of facility TCS operates in Nashik.
The copy will be updated with the inputs when TCS responds.
WHAT ARE THE POLITICAL REACTIONS IN THE NASHIK CASE?
The Nashik TCS case has drawn strong political reactions and protests.
On April 10, BJP workers staged protests in Nashik, demanding strict action against those accused in the sexual harassment case involving employees of the IT company, reported news agency ANI.
BJP leader Bandi Sanjay Kumar referred to it as the “Nashik corporate jihad case”, and warned the government of Telangana to ensure protection for lakhs of IT employees working in the state. Sanjay is from Telangana BJP.
“… Telangana cannot sit silent and wait for its turn. Hyderabad has lakhs of IT employees. Their workplace must be for careers, not coercion, harassment, religious targeting, exploitation or secret pressure networks. I urge Telangana DGP for an immediate meeting with all major IT company heads, especially HR teams. Put strict accountability in place. No complaint should be buried. No victim should be isolated. No management should look away,” Bandi Sanjay Kumar posted on X on April 12.
Shiv Sena (UBT)’s Priyanka Chaturvedi criticised the company’s response.
“Dear TCS. Your response to what has emerged in your Nashik BPO is not just inadequate but also casually dismissive. The deaf tone approach in your press note regarding women being sexually harassed and also charges of religious conversion over the years in a reputed BPO such as yours is a huge let down and disappointing,” Chaturvedi posted on X.
Maharashtra minister and BJP leader Girish Mahajan called the incident in the “TCS company in Nashik, where many young girls work”, as “very unfortunate and shameful”.
“Regarding religious conversion, there are four to five Muslim company workers and some officers who lured the girls by promising them jobs and good salaries. They trapped them, converted their religion, made them offer namaz, keep roza, and fed them beef, the meat of our holy cow, forcefully…,” Mahajan told news agency ANI.
While an investigation is on, the police said that more details would emerge as evidence is examined. But the serious allegations of sexual exploitation and religious conversions have also raised questions about workplace safety, internal corporate complaint mechanisms, and the menace of such faith-influenced forced practices by team leaders in a corporate set-up.
