Nida Khan Arrested in TCS Nashik Case After Nearly a Month on the Run

Suspended Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) employee Nida Khan was arrested by Nashik Police after allegedly evading investigators for nearly 25 days in connection with a high-profile case involving allegations of sexual exploitation, religious conversion attempts and intimidation of complainants linked to the company’s Nashik BPO unit.

Police officials said Khan was detained late Thursday night from an apartment in the Kaiser Colony area of Naregaon in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, where she was reportedly staying with her maternal aunt and other relatives. She was produced before a local court on a transfer warrant, underwent a medical examination and was subsequently brought to Nashik on Friday morning for further questioning.

Investigators have alleged that Khan played an active role in influencing complainants, discouraging women from approaching police and aiding other accused in the broader sexual harassment and exploitation case that has drawn significant public attention in Maharashtra.

According to police, Khan joined the TCS Nashik BPO unit in 2022 as a telecaller. Officials said she later sought a transfer to Mumbai and worked at multiple TCS BPO facilities, including offices in Powai’s Hiranandani business district and Malad. During this period, she reportedly lived in Bhiwandi with her husband before shifting to Mumbra in Thane district.

The controversy escalated on March 26 after an FIR was registered naming Khan along with co-accused Danish Sheikh and Tausif Attar. The complaint included allegations of attempted religious conversion, hurting religious sentiments, promoting enmity between communities and offences under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The complainant also accused the group of involvement in sexual exploitation and coercion of women associated with the Nashik BPO unit.

Police arrested Sheikh and Attar on March 27, a day after the FIR was lodged. However, Khan allegedly disappeared soon after the case was registered, prompting a large-scale search operation led by a Special Investigation Team (SIT).

Over the following weeks, police teams conducted multiple raids across Maharashtra in an effort to trace her whereabouts. Searches were carried out at her residence in Nashik, her in-laws’ home in Bhiwandi, relatives’ properties in Mumbai’s Bhendi Bazaar area, her husband’s residence in Mumbra and her aunt’s home in Nashik district. Officials confirmed that several search operations were conducted through April, including raids on April 14 and April 18.

Khan approached the Nashik Road court on April 17 seeking anticipatory bail. The matter was heard in-camera on April 20 and again on April 27. On May 2, the court rejected her pre-arrest bail application, after which police intensified efforts to locate her.

Acting on what officials described as “specific technical and local intelligence inputs,” investigators tracked Khan to the apartment in Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar and took her into custody on May 7.

Senior police officials said investigators will now question Khan in detail regarding allegations of attempted religious conversion, intimidation of survivors and her alleged links to others accused in the case.

The TCS Nashik controversy has triggered wider discussions around workplace safety, internal grievance mechanisms and alleged exploitation within outsourcing and BPO environments. Authorities have indicated that the investigation remains ongoing and additional arrests or charges are possible depending on evidence collected during interrogation.