Nashik police have arrested Nida Khan, a suspended Tata Consultancy Services employee and key accused in a workplace harassment and alleged religious coercion case that has widened scrutiny of the company’s Nashik unit and its internal complaint mechanisms.Khan was taken into custody on Thursday from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar after being wanted in connection with Crime Register No. 156/26 at Deolali Camp police station. Police said she had been staying at a flat in Kaiser Colony in the Naregaon area with members of her family before a joint team of the Nashik Special Investigation Team, local police and the Crime Branch moved in.
She was produced before a Judicial Magistrate First Class for transit remand proceedings under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita and was later taken to Nashik for questioning. Her arrest came after a search across parts of Maharashtra and followed the rejection of her anticipatory bail plea by a Nashik court on May 2. Khan had sought interim protection from arrest, citing pregnancy.
The case stems from complaints by women employees at the TCS Nashik facility, where allegations include sexual harassment, mental harassment, pressure to adopt religious practices, and failure by senior personnel to act on grievances. Nashik police have registered nine FIRs in the matter, covering allegations of molestation, harassment, religious coercion and related offences. The investigation is being handled by a Special Investigation Team.
Khan, who joined TCS in December 2021 as a process associate, has been accused of pressuring women employees through workplace interactions and a WhatsApp group. The FIR alleges that she advised complainants to dress and behave in line with Islamic practices, pray, change dietary habits and adopt religious symbols. Police have also invoked provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Act in one complaint, as the complainant belongs to a Scheduled Caste.
The first complaint involved allegations against Danish Shaikh, who is accused of entering into a physical relationship with a woman colleague after allegedly promising marriage while already being married. Khan is alleged to have concealed that fact from the complainant along with another accused, Tausif Akhtar. Investigators say additional women later came forward with allegations against senior colleagues and managers.
TCS has suspended employees linked to the case and said it follows a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion. The company has also said it is cooperating with the investigation. It has clarified that Khan was not an HR manager and did not hold recruitment or leadership responsibilities, countering claims circulating in parts of the public debate. Her access to company systems was revoked after suspension.
Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik has said the investigation is confined to the nine FIRs registered over workplace harassment and alleged religious coercion. Claims outside that scope, including suggestions of wider extremist links, have been referred to other agencies for examination. Police have said they are still gathering evidence and will place material before the court through the legal process.
The matter has triggered wider concern over the functioning of workplace safeguards, particularly the role of internal grievance systems under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment framework. One senior woman officer linked to the company’s internal mechanism was arrested earlier for allegedly failing to act on complaints, and her bail hearing has been adjourned.
Several accused have been remanded to judicial custody as the probe continues. The arrests include employees who allegedly held positions of influence over complainants, raising questions over whether professional hierarchy was misused to intimidate or silence women staffers.