Sex Harassment in TCS Nashik Office: Accused’s Family Members Claim the Case to be “Scripted, False”

Manas Dasgupta

NEW DELHI, Apr 17: As more skeletons are coming out of the cupboard of the Tata Consultancy Service’s Nasik office about alleged sexual harassment, another former employee has alleged that team leaders at the office used their desks not for official work but to exploit female colleagues mentally and morally, even as the family members of the arrested staffers claimed the entire episode to be “scripted and false.”

The complainants have described the office a conversion syndicate and a sexual harassment network operating inside one of India’s largest IT firms. The former employee said the accused used vulgar language when summoning women to the team leaders’ desks. “All the accused, especially their manner of communication, were completely vulgar. Girls were called to the TL desk and subjected to obscene language unimaginable in any professional or commercial office,” the former employee said.

The main accused, Tausif Attar, is alleged to have targeted Hindu religious practices. One of the witness had said he repeatedly ridiculed female employees during festivals when they wore saris or bindis. “On all festivals, when we wore saris, he would question our attire and religion. As we left, he would make such remarks that we began to question how a team leader could mock another religion so much,” she said.

The former employee claimed that a colleague named Krishna used to wear a Rudraksha rosary to the office and later converted to Islam. Another revelation concerned Nida Khan, who is under investigation. The former employee said Khan was not an HR official but a process associate who was “mysteriously striving for a transfer and a domain change.” The employee claimed that, in the name of security, staff were required to leave their phones, bags and even lunch boxes outside the office floor so that activities remained “off the record.”

The former employee named two other staff, Danish and Raza, who allegedly booked hotels and resorts for weekends from the office floor and pressured young women employees to join them. The witness described the overall environment as toxic and said she now feels safe after leaving the company. She questioned why senior management in such a large corporate organisation had no knowledge of what she called a “parallel system.”

A family member of Raza Rafiq Memon, 35, one of the seven arrested in the alleged sexual harassment and forcible religious conversion case, has called it a “conspiracy.” “All the families are troubled. Everything is happening as per a conspiracy,” Memon’s uncle, Razak Kazi, told reporters on Thursday. He also alleged that the Hindu group Bajrang Dal is involved.

“The girl’s family is involved. They are the ones who called Bajrang Dal. One person was released after the investigation, and then he was arrested again by the police… Everything that happened was scripted,” he said.

The father of another accused, Tausif Attar, claimed that the case was “false.” “We are well-educated. I am a graduate myself, and my son is also a graduate. He has completed his BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications). Our entire family is educated,” Tausif’s father, Bilal Fakir Mohammad Attar said. “Whatever is happening is wrong. It is not the fault of my son or any other child. They have been falsely implicated in a pre-planned manner. All the allegations against them are false,” he added.

The police are investigating nine complaints by eight female TCS employees who claimed that senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them and the Human Resources department ignored the complaints. The police said nine cases also include a complaint by a male employee of the firm, alleging an attempt at religious conversion at the workplace.

The arrested staffers, who have since been suspended, have been identified as Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Rafiq Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansari, and HR head Ashwini Chainani. A woman employee Nida Khan is currently on the run. While Chainani is accused of discouraging a victim from filing a complaint, Khan is named in a single case of religious harassment.

The seven male staffers — Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansar, and Shahrukh Sheikh — are co-accused in most of the cases, suggesting they operated as a group or organised gang within the office, the police said.

The 25-year old Nida Khan, accused of forcible religious conversion, was suspended from the company last week among other employees who have been under the scanner. Khan, who joined the company in December 2021, was working as a ‘process associate’.

“This is to inform you that the Company has been made aware of a serious matter reported against you, pursuant to which you are currently in judicial/police custody. Considering the seriousness of the matter as reported and that you are presently unable to discharge your official duties, the company has decided to place you under suspension with immediate effect until further communication and decision in the matter by the management,” the letter dated April 9 read. The letter – signed by Nashik, Pune, and Goa branch HR head, Shekhar Kamble – mentioned that Khan’s access to the TCS network was being “temporarily revoked.”

“You are hereby instructed to make arrangements to surrender any company assets which may be in your possession, and you are directed not to report to any company office, or work from any other location/home, until further communication in this regard from the company’s designated HR officer,” it said.

The company also directed Khan not to discuss or speak to any other employee of TCS regarding the issue and “maintain strict confidentiality.” “Any failure on your part to cooperate in the matter will result in disciplinary action,” it added.

Nida Khan is currently in Mumbai and is expecting her first child, according to her family. Khan, who is currently on the run, approached a local court in Nashik for anticipatory bail, potentially framing her medical condition as a key factor in her application. Authorities are expected to verify these claims through official medical channels as the special investigation team (SIT) continues its efforts to bring her into custody.

The police are investigating nine complaints linked to sexual assault and forced religious conversion at the TCS Nasik office. The incident came to light after a woman accused a colleague, Danish Sheikh, of establishing physical relationship with her after falsely promising marriage in 2022 – when he was already married to another woman.

According to a police report, Nida Khan is the sister of Danish Sheikh. She allegedly made derogatory remarks about the complainant’s faith and attempted to pressure her to change her religion, the report said. It is further alleged that Khan and another individual, Tausif Akhtar, concealed the fact from the complainant that Danish Sheikh was already married to another woman.

As the police started investigating the matter, seven more women came forward, claiming that their senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them, and the human resources department ignored their complaints. These events reportedly took place between February 2022 and March 2026. They have arrested seven employees, including six men and a woman HR Head. The police formed a special investigation team (SIT) last week to probe the complaints filed by eight women employees.

“When the complainant repeatedly lodged verbal complaints regarding these incidents with the company’s head officer, he failed to take cognisance of her complaints regarding the molestation; instead, he effectively abetted their actions,” the police said in a statement. The police said the accused also forced one of the male employees to perform Namaz and insulted his religion.

The TCS has asserted that it has a zero-tolerance policy on harassment and that it was fully cooperating with the police. “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 well-being of our employees at the workplace,” the IT giant said in a statement. “As soon as we were made aware of the matter in Nashik, we took swift action,” it said.

The employees being investigated have been suspended pending enquiry, the company’s spokesperson said, adding that the firm is cooperating with local law enforcement authorities, and any further action will be based on the conclusion of this investigation.

The Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran has termed sexual harassment allegations as “gravely concerning and anguishing” and announced that a thorough investigation was underway under TCS’s Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian to establish the facts and identify individuals responsible for the situation.

“This incident is being treated with utmost seriousness. Action has already been initiated against the accused employees, and the company is extending its full cooperation to the ongoing investigations,” Chandrasekaran, who was leading TCS as its chief executive and managing director before his appointment as the group chairman, said.

The National Commission for Women has also set up a fact-finding committee to probe the allegations.