The National Commission for Women (NCW) will visit the TCS-linked BPO office in Nashik on Friday to investigate alleged cases of sexual harassment. The committee said in a statement that it has taken suo motu note of the serious media reports and will conduct an investigation at the site on April 17.
“The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognizance of serious media reports regarding alleged incidents of sexual harassment of women at Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) BPO unit in Nashik, Maharashtra,” the statement read.
She added: “Given the seriousness of the matter, the Commission, in exercise of its powers under Article 8 of the National Commission for Women Act of 1990, formed a fact-finding committee to conduct a detailed investigation into the incident. The committee will visit the scene of the incident on April 17.”
The committee consists of retired Bombay High Court judge Sadhna Jadhav, former Haryana CM PK Sinha, Supreme Court lawyer Monica Arora, and senior coordinator of the National Council of Women Lilpati, according to PTI. The committee will study the circumstances of the incident and review the response of the authorities at the facility.
Read also: Religious conversion, sexual harassment and the ‘organised gang’: What we know about the TCS Nashik crisis | He explained
The matter has reached the Supreme Court
The case of alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment at TCS Nashik has reached the Supreme Court, with a petition filed on Thursday. According to reports, petitioner Ashwini Kumar Upadhyay said that organized and misguided religious conversions pose a serious threat to sovereignty, secularism and national unity. The appeal urges the Center and state governments to take strict measures to curb such practices.
What is TCS Nashik case?
A shocking series of FIRs have been lodged at police stations in Nashik regarding various cases of sexual, mental and religious harassment. Police in Nashik have arrested eight people accused in the case.
According to the police, one of the accused is on the run. An SIT committee has also been formed to investigate the case.
The Nashik Police has shared details of the alleged BPO mistreatment case linked to TCS with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) as it is of the opinion that this matter is not limited to the office space only. The state’s anti-terrorism agency and intelligence agencies are also investigating possible extremist links and foreign funding.
Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik said the Special Investigation Team is investigating eight accused senior employees and is awaiting inputs from central agencies to identify any international connections. Police registered nine FIRs between March 26 and April 3 at Deolali and Mumbai Naka stations, based on complaints filed by nine junior employees alleging sexual assault, harassment and religious coercion.
