- Nashik TCS HR head allegedly discouraged a woman from filing a sexual harassment complaint
- "These things happen," she told the employee and sided with the accused
- Police are probing 9 complaints linked to sexual assault and forced religious conversion at TCS Nashik
The HR head of the Nashik branch of the IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had allegedly discouraged a woman employee from submitting a sexual harassment complaint, the police have said.
Ashwini Chainani, the HR head and operations manager of the company, allegedly told the employee that "these things happen" and sided with the accused, Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik has said, reported the news agency Press Trust of India (PTI).
The police are investigating nine complaints linked to sexual assault and forced religious conversion at the BPO unit of the TCS in Nashik and have arrested seven employees, including Chainani and six men. Another woman employee, Nida Khan, is currently on the run.
While Chainani is accused of discouraging a victim from filing a complaint, Khan is named in a single case of religious harassment.
The seven male staffers -- Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansar, and Shahrukh Sheikh -- are co-accused in most of the cases, suggesting they operated as a group or organised gang within the office, Karnik said.
He said nine cases registered by the police include a complaint lodged by a male employee of the firm, alleging an attempt at religious conversion and religious harassment at the workplace.
"Nine FIRs have been registered in Nashik involving allegations of attempted religious conversion, sexual harassment, and religious harassment at the workplace. The accused - nine in total, including seven men and two women - held positions of authority such as team leaders and allegedly misused their roles to harass co-workers," he said.
The police have formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe complaints lodged by eight women employees who claimed that senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them and the human resources department ignored the complaints.
TCS on Sunday said that it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time, and the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office have been suspended.
A day later, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran said that the complaints and allegations emerging from the Nashik office of TCS were "gravely concerning and anguishing".
He said a thorough investigation was underway under Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian to establish the facts and identify individuals responsible for the situation.
The National Commission for Women has also set up a fact-finding committee to probe the allegations.
