The Tata Consultancy Services BPO facility on Ashoka Marg in Nashik is locked. The 6 AM shift notifications have been replaced by a single instruction to all employees: work from home until further notice. Inside this office, according to police records, nine separate First Information Reports (FIR) were filed between March 26 and April 3, 2026. Eight women came forward. Seven accused have been arrested. And one senior HR official who allegedly told a complainant that "these things happen" is now in police custody.

This is not a story that surfaced overnight.

What started as a tip-off to Nashik Police about "unusual religious practices" inside a corporate BPO office led to a covert operation that ran for nearly two weeks. Police deployed constables — including women officers — inside the TCS facility disguised as housekeeping staff. They watched. They documented. What they gathered became the foundation for the first FIR, registered at Deolali Camp Police Station in March 2026.

Since then, the case has expanded into something far larger and far darker than an isolated office dispute.

What the FIRs Actually Say

A summary of the nine FIRs registered across Deolali Camp and Mumbai Naka Police Stations tells a consistent story of workplace power being misused against women employees — most of them Hindu, most of them junior to their alleged harassers.

One of the most detailed complaints comes from a 25-year-old Business Process Associate. In FIR No. 165/2026, she describes a period between 2024 and early 2026 during which her religious sentiments were repeatedly targeted. She recounts that an accused, Tausif Attar, approached her while she was fasting on a Monday — she is a Shiv devotee who kept an idol of Mahadev on her work desk — and began questioning and mocking the character of Hindu deities, including Mahadev, Ganesh, Parvati, and Lord Krishna. The remarks were not one-time events. They were repeated over months.

A second complaint under FIR No. 167/2026 adds a layer of physical harassment. The complainant — identified as Sapna Gaikwad (name changed, surname retained) — alleges that between September 2024 and February 2026, colleagues Asif Ansari and Shafi Sheikh made obscene comments about her body in the office. She further alleges deliberate physical contact — touching her feet and chest "on the pretext of helping with work." In her complaint, she describes an incident in December 2024 when Shafi Sheikh sat beside her and, while reaching toward her keyboard, touched her inappropriately. When she moved her chair away, she says, he smiled and walked off.

The most serious allegations are against Danish Shaikh. According to investigators, he is accused of entering into a relationship with a female colleague on a false promise of marriage and subsequently sexually exploiting her over a period of time. Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Asif Ansari, Shafi Sheikh — all named across multiple FIRs — are currently in police custody. Nida Khan, another accused, is reportedly absconding. The Nashik Police have confirmed that more arrests are expected.

The HR Cover-Up Angle

Perhaps the most damning aspect of this case is not the accused employees — it is what allegedly happened when the complaints were first raised.

Ashwini Chanani, 51, was the Assistant General Manager (AGM) of HR at TCS's Nashik BPO facility. She was also — critically — a member of the company's Internal Committee under the Prevention of Sexual Harassment (POSH) Act, the very mechanism established by law to address exactly the kind of complaints that were coming her way.

According to the SIT's remand report, when a complainant approached Chanani, she allegedly did not initiate action. Instead, she told the employee: "These things happen." She is also accused of actively discouraging the woman from pursuing a formal complaint. Call records reviewed by the SIT reportedly show multiple conversations between Chanani and the accused employees — raising questions about whether the HR machinery was protecting the accused rather than the complainants.

Chanani was arrested from her Pune residence on April 10, 2026. A Nashik court remanded her to police custody until April 15. She is accused of abetting sexual harassment by knowingly suppressing complaints — a charge that, if proven, would make this one of the few cases in India where a POSH committee member herself faces criminal accountability for institutional failure.

The Malaysia Angle

Just as the case appeared to have its boundaries defined, investigators found something on the seized digital devices of the accused that pushed it further.

According to sources cited by The Week, a Malaysia-based religious preacher identified only as "Irman" was allegedly introduced to some TCS employees via online video calls. The calls are under investigation for potentially carrying religious content designed to influence junior employees. SIT officials have confirmed they are tracking this connection, though they have stopped short of declaring an organized conversion network.

Reports from Organiser, citing unnamed investigative sources, have further alleged that some Hindu women were being planned for "trafficking to Malaysia" by the accused network. These are serious allegations that the SIT is currently working to verify through the digital data recovered from seized mobile phones and devices. TCS has not responded to questions about the Malaysia angle specifically.

TCS Responds. NCW Acts.

Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran, in a statement that was direct but carefully measured, said the allegations were "gravely concerning and anguishing" and that the matter is being handled "with the utmost seriousness." He confirmed a detailed internal probe under the leadership of TCS COO Aarthi Subramanian.

TCS has stated publicly that all accused employees have been suspended pending investigation and that the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward harassment and coercion. An internal communication has also been sent out urging employees to report any similar incidents.

The National Commission for Women (NCW) took suo motu cognizance of the case based on media reports and formed a panel to probe the incidents. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis stated publicly that the accused "will not be spared."

NITES, the IT employees' union, has called for a comprehensive audit of POSH compliance not just at TCS but across the IT sector — arguing that the Nashik case reveals systemic failures in how India's tech industry handles internal complaints.

What This Case Is Really About

Strip away the political dimension — and there has been significant political heat around the religious conversion angle — and what remains is a straightforward story of institutional failure.

Eight women complained over a period of years. Their complaints were ignored, dismissed, or reportedly suppressed by the very HR machinery set up to protect them. The accused continued working, continued the alleged misconduct, and were only arrested after an undercover police operation and public media attention forced accountability.

The POSH Act of 2013 was enacted to prevent exactly this scenario. The Internal Committee system mandates swift, independent inquiry. The presence of an accused HR official as a member of that very committee — and her alleged role in suppressing complaints — is not just a management failure. It is, if proven, a criminal one.

The SIT is now examining 78 internal emails and chat logs. Call records have been retrieved. Bank account details are being reviewed. Whether this leads to further arrests, including those outside the Nashik facility, will be known in the coming days and weeks.

Key Facts at a Glance

Total FIRs filed: 9 (March 26 to April 3, 2026)
Complaints from: 8 women, covering incidents from July 2022 to March 2026
Arrested so far: Danish Shaikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Asif Ansari, Shafi Sheikh, Ashwini Chanani (HR AGM)
Absconding: Nida Khan
In custody: 6 in magisterial custody, HR AGM in police remand
Probe agency: Special Investigation Team (SIT), Nashik Police
TCS response: Internal inquiry under COO Aarthi Subramanian; accused suspended
NCW: Panel formed
SIT is examining 78 emails, CCTV footage, call records, bank transactions

TCS Nashik Case: What 9 FIRs, 78 Emails and One Absconding Accused Reveal

TCS Nashik Case: What 9 FIRs, 78 Emails and One Absconding Accused Reveal