A relative of one of the accused in a case involving alleged sexual harassment and forced religious conversion at a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) BPO unit in Nashik, Maharashtra, has described the matter as a “conspiracy.” Raza Rafiq Memon, 35, is among seven TCS employees from the Nashik BPO unit who have been arrested. His uncle, Razak Kazi, told reporters on Thursday that the families are distressed and claimed the entire episode is part of a planned conspiracy. He also alleged involvement of the Hindu organisation Bajrang Dal and said the victim’s family played a role in bringing them in. According to him, a person was initially released after questioning but was later re-arrested, and he claimed the events appeared “scripted.”

In a separate statement, the father of another accused, Tausif Attar, rejected the allegations and called the case false. He emphasized that both he and his son are educated, noting that his son holds a Bachelor of Computer Applications degree. He further claimed that the accused have been wrongly implicated in a pre-planned manner and that all accusations are baseless.

The case involves multiple complaints filed by eight female TCS employees who allege mental and sexual harassment by senior colleagues, along with claims that the HR department failed to act on their grievances. Police have also included a complaint from a male employee alleging attempted religious conversion at the workplace.

Seven male employees—Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Rafiq Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansari, and Shahrukh Sheikh—have been arrested and suspended. A woman employee, Nida Khan, remains absconding. Authorities say the accused were allegedly part of a coordinated group operating within the office.

TCS has stated that it maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy toward harassment and has suspended the employees involved while an internal investigation is underway. Tata Sons chairman N. Chandrasekaran described the allegations as deeply concerning and confirmed that a detailed probe is being conducted under Chief Operating Officer Arathi Subramanian. The National Commission for Women has also formed a fact-finding committee to investigate the matter.

Disclaimer: This image is taken from NDTV.