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‘Gravely concerning’, Chandrasekaran orders probe into TCS Nashik allegations
Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, in a statement, said that a comprehensive investigation is underway to ascertain the facts and identify individuals responsible. Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty, and necessary corrective measures will be strictly enforced.
Pune/Nashik: Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran on Monday said Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has ordered a high-level probe into the allegations emerging from its Nashik BPO, describing them as “gravely concerning and anguishing”. The company has appointed chief operating officer (COO) Aarthi Subramanium to lead the investigation.
Chandrasekaran, in a statement, said that a comprehensive investigation is underway to ascertain the facts and identify individuals responsible. Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty, and necessary corrective measures will be strictly enforced.
The IT major operates a business process outsourcing (BPO) unit in Nashik with around 150 employees.
The development comes amid a police probe into allegations of sexual abuse and religious coercion at the workplace.
The Nashik City Police had registered nine FIRs against eight senior employees of the BPO–one at Devlali and eight in Mumbai Naka police stations–between March 26 and April 3 under various sections of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) following complaints from nine junior staffers about alleged “sexual abuse, harassment and hurting religious sentiments” for over four years. A special investigation team (SIT) constituted to probe the incident has arrested seven of the accused, while one is reportedly on the run
A top functionary of the BPO had recently said that seven of the accused have been sacked and the remaining one is under the radar of the top management of the company.
The city police commissioner, Sandeep Karnik, was unavailable for comments.
During a court hearing on Monday, the prosecution said investigators had found that the HR manager (operations) — among those arrested — had exchanged 78 emails with other accused. Assistant public prosecutor Aniket Awad told the court of additional chief judicial magistrate JV Paliwal that custodial interrogation was required to examine the contents of these emails.
“The SIT needs to verify the nature of these communications and question her further,” Awad said.
The Nashik court extended the HR assistant manager’s police custody by two days. She was arrested on April 11.
The defence, represented by VR Deshpande, said that the emails were work-related and unrelated to the allegations. He said that his client is not part of the HR department but serves as an operational head and delivery partner based in Pune, and has been cooperating with the investigation.
Sandip Mitke, assistant police commissioner and head of the Nashik city police’s SIT formed to probe the case, said that the investigation is progressing well.
“We will not share details about the case at this juncture since it is a sensitive one. The police will not spare anyone involved in the case,” he said.
