E-Paper
Amid new revelations in Nashik BPO sexual harassment case, women's panel to visit TCS office at centre of storm today
Nashik TCS case: NCW has formed a committe, including a Bombay High Court, which will visit the office on April 17 and review the responses of the authorities.
The National Commission for Women (NCW) will visit the TCS-linked BPO office in Nashik on Friday to investigate the alleged sexual harassment cases. In a statement, the Commission said it has taken suo motu cognisance of serious media reports and will conduct an on-site inquiry on April 17.
“The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of serious media reports concerning alleged incidents of sexual harassment of women at the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) BPO unit in Nashik, Maharashtra,” the statement read.
“Taking a serious view of the matter, the Commission, in exercise of its powers under Section 8 of the National Commission for Women Act, 1990, has constituted a fact-finding committee to conduct a detailed inquiry into the incident. The committee will visit the place of incident on 17th April,” it added.
The committee comprises retired Bombay High Court Justice Sadhna Jadhav, former Haryana DGP B K Sinha, Supreme Court advocate Monika Arora and NCW Senior Coordinator Lilabati, according to PTI. The panel will examine the circumstances of the incident and review the response of authorities at the facility.
The matter has reached the Supreme Court
The alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment case at TCS Nashik has reached the Supreme Court, with a plea filed on Thursday. According to reports, petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay argued that organised and deceitful religious conversions pose a serious threat to sovereignty, secularism, and national unity. The plea urges the Centre and state governments to take strict action to curb such practices.
What is the TCS Nashik case?
A shocking series of FIRs were filed in police stations in Nashik regarding various instances of sexual, mental and religious harassment. Police in Nashik have arrested a total of eight people accused in the case.
One female accused, as per police, is on the run. An SIT panel has also been formed to probe the case.
The Nashik police have shared details of the alleged abuse case at a TCS-linked BPO with the National Investigating Agency (NIA) as they see this matter not just limited to the office space. State ATS and intelligence agencies are also probing possible extremist links and foreign funding.
Police commissioner Sandeep Karnik said an SIT is investigating eight accused senior employees and awaits inputs from central agencies to determine any international connections. Police registered nine FIRs between March 26 and April 3 at Deolali and Mumbai Naka stations, based on complaints by nine junior employees alleging sexual abuse, harassment and religious coercion.
