Mumbai: Over a month after her name figured in an FIR related to ‘forced religious conversion’, suspended TCS employee Nida Khan was arrested in Maharashtra’s Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on Thursday night.
According to the prosecution, she was produced before a special court Friday, and was sent to police custody till 11 May. A special Nashik court had rejected her anticipatory bail on 2 May.
The 26-year-old was accused of hurting the religious sentiments of the victim, who filed the first FIR in the case involving alleged sexual harassment and religious coercion of nine victims by eight fellow employees at the TCS Nashik office. She was also accused of attempting to influence the victim to adopt Islam.
Along with her, two more accused–Danish Shaikh and Tausif Attar–were also named in the first FIR, which was filed 26 March.
It was alleged that Shaikh subjected the victim to sexual assault under the false pretext of marriage, while Attar molested her by repeatedly demanding sexual favours and threatening to disclose to her family that she had engaged in physical relations at the workplace.
The three accused were later also charged under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act as the complainant came from a Scheduled Caste community.
After nine FIRs were filed at two police stations in Nashik and a Special Investigation Team (SIT) was formed to investigate the alleged crimes, TCS announced that it was suspending all accused employees and had initiated an internal inquiry into the matter.
Commissioner of Police Sandeep Karnik said Nida was arrested from Sambhajinagar in a joint operation by Nashik City Police and Chatrapati Sambhajinagar City Police late Thursday night. He said local AIMIM corporator Mateen Majid Patel had “harboured her” there, and he has also been made an accused in the case.
AIMIM state president Imtiaz Jaleel said he would check with authorities on “what kind of involvement” is being alleged against Mateen, and will cooperate with both Nashik and Sambhajinagar Police.
After Nida was repeatedly mentioned as HR manager of the Nashik unit, TCS CEO K. Krithivasan said in a statement on 17 April that Nida Khan served as a process associate at the TCS Nashik office and did not hold any leadership responsibilities.
On 20 April, advocate Rahul J. Kasliwal appealed for Khan’s anticipatory bail at a sessions court in Nashik. Kasliwal argued that Khan was three months pregnant and was being falsely implicated, even as the key allegations were directed towards the other two accused.
Her interim bail was denied instantly while the hearing for her anticipatory bail continued.
On 2 May, special judge K.G. Joshi of the Additional Sessions Court denied anticipatory bail on the grounds that it “would cause interference in the sphere of investigation of an offence.”
During the hearing, Ajay Misar, the District Government Prosecutor and Investigating Officer (IO), informed the court that the probe had uncovered a conspiracy to change a colleague’s name and arrange her travel to Malaysia, where a person identified as ‘Imran’ was to receive her.
Documents, the IO alleged, for the process were allegedly to be arranged through a “Malegaon party.”
The prosecution also raised the possibility of probing an international syndicate, examining foreign funding and tracing a potential money trail. Khan, according to the prosecution, made several attempts to persuade the victim to convert to Islam, as well as gave a burqa and shared religious literature, all of which have been seized.
Khan allegedly installed applications related to religious teachings on the victim’s phone and circulated videos and links containing religious content. She asked the victim to observe Ramzan, the prosecution told the court.
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What police say
In his statement, Commissioner of Police Sandeep Karnik said Nida Khan was sheltered in Sambhajinagar allegedly by the AIMIM’s local municipal corporator Mateen Majid Patel.
“She was found in Naregaon where the local corporator Mateen Majid Patel had harboured her and accordingly we have made corporator Mateen Majid Patel an accused in this case,” he said.
District Government Prosecutor Ajay Misar told reporters, “She (Nida Khan) was caught at 11:15pm in Saambhajinagar. She was taken to the district magistrate late last night and with their permission she was brought to Nashik. Today at 4:15, she was produced before the special court in Nashik.”
He also said the police sought seven-day custody but the court granted custody till Monday.
“They (police) said this crime is serious and has several different angles. The victims were coerced into converting, and given a hijab and some literature on Islam. Police said they need to investigate this and also need to see if there are any more people involved. She will be in custody till 11 May,” he said
He added, “Mateen Wajid Patel has been added as an accused in the case for harbouring her and charged with Section 238 (of the BNS).”
Section 238 criminalises the act of causing the disappearance of evidence or providing false information to screen an offender from legal punishment.
Sanjay Shirsat, the MLA from Aurangabad West Vidhan Sabha Constituency and member of the Eknath Shinde led Shiv Sena, has called for an investigation against state AIMIM president Imtiaz Jaleel.
“The mastermind of corporate Jihad is in Sambhajinagar. He had come and openly supported the accused before. Imtiaz Jaleel and others who are a part of this should be investigated,” Shirsat told reporters on Friday.
He further added, “The investigation will reveal a big conspiracy. I say with absolute certainty, the MIM had a hand in all of this. they have supported this and that is why it all happened.”
Jaleel responded to Shirsat’s remarks saying, “I will not give the ‘palak mantri‘ (guardian minister) any importance.”
On the involvement of a local AIMIM corporator, Jaleel said, “I will check with the police and my people on what kind of involvement was found first. I don’t know anything yet. I will cooperate with both Nashik and Sambhajinagar Police.”
He also added that had Khan appealed for bail at the High Court, she would have definitely been granted relief.
“That girl or anyone who is accused of something, has the right to appeal for bail in court. It is a legal provision. Her bail request was rejected in the sessions court, but she still has two more options of appealing to the HC and SC. If she would have gone to the HC, I am 200 percent sure she would have been granted bail.”
This is an updated version of the story
(Edited by Tony Rai)