AIMIM Corporator, Accused Of Sheltering Ex-TCS Staffer Nida Khan, Arrested

Matin Patel, an All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) corporator from Maharashtra's Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, has been arrested for consistently failing to appear in court despite repeated summons in the TCS conversion case.

Patel was accused of sheltering ex-TCS staffer Nida Khan, who was named in the religious conversion case. A case was registered against him in the matter.

When he failed to appear in court, the police issued an arrest warrant against him.

Subsequently, the police arrested him on Thursday, around 7 pm, and took him to Nashik for questioning.

Officials have also begun bulldozing action at Patel's residence and office.

TCS case

Nida Khan, a former employee of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) who was terminated after being named in the religious conversion case at the IT firm's unit in Maharashtra's Nashik, was arrested on May 7 from a rented flat in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar  - after being on the run for nearly 25 days.

The incident came to light after a woman accused a colleague, Danish Sheikh, of establishing a physical relationship with her after falsely promising marriage in 2022 - when he was already married to another woman. According to a police report, Nida Khan - the sister of Danish Sheikh - allegedly made derogatory remarks about the complainant's faith and attempted to pressure her to change her religion. 

The cops were probing a total of nine cases registered in connection with the alleged exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation, and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit.

According to investigators, Khan was involved in brainwashing a victim by giving her a burqa and religious literature. She was also accused of installing applications concerning Islam on the victim's mobile phone, visiting her home to teach her how to offer namaz, and showing her how to wear a hijab.

Last month, Khan, who had sought bail primarily on the ground that she was pregnant, got the relief by a local court in Nashik. Three days later, the court granted her bail, observing that the trauma of giving birth in prison is unbearable for any woman. The court also drew a comparison with the circumstances surrounding the birth of Lord Krishna.

TCS suspended the employees involved in the case, saying that it adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time.