The TCS Nashik conversion case — which involved a group of employees running a conversion racket from its premises for over four years — has snowballed into something much larger.
TCS has suspended operations at its Nashik unit, News18 reports. TCS has instructed employees to not report to the campus and has halted new recruitment at the Nashik unit. These measures seem to have been taken while anti-terror agencies and the NIA probe the details of the case, which has hinted at a larger conspiracy.
As of today morning, there is a large police presence at the TCS Nashik gates. Employees have been told to not attend office and work from home. Cops have also sealed parts of the office for further investigation. TCS has asked employees to participate in the investigation, and the statements of eyewitnesses are being recorded by the authorities.
The TCS Nashik case had exploded last week after 9 victims — 8 women and a man — had alleged targeted religious conversion and sexual harassment by a group of employees. The accused, identified as Asif Ansari, Shafi Sheikh, Shah Rukh Qureshi, Raza Memon, Tausif Attar, and Danish Sheikh, had created a WhatsApp group to systematically target young Hindu women who were from vulnerable financial backgrounds. They had then initiated physical relationships with some of the women, and had then begun pressuring them to convert their religion. The lone male victim in the case had said that he was pressured to change his religion in return for better career progress.
The case had taken an even murkier turn when it had been reported that the accused had taken away the passports and other documents of the victims after promising them jobs in foreign countries. They had also made fake bank accounts with their details. As such, it had been speculated that the case could involve human trafficking of women. Central agencies including the Anti Terror Squad (ATS) and NIA were interrogating the accused employees. The HR manager, Nida Khan, who is thought to be the mastermind of the case, is still absconding, and the police has launched a manhunt.