A court here in Maharashtra's Nashik on Monday sent Nida Khan, the accused in the TCS sexual harassment and religious coercion case, to 14 days of judicial custody till May 24. The order was passed by Additional Sessions Judge KG Joshi after Khan was produced in the court following the end of her police remand.
Khan, who is pregnant, was caught on May 7 from the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. She was arrested by the Nashik Police, along with assistance from the crime branch of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. She was later lodged in the Nashik Road central jail.
Khan remains the main accused in the case, as she had reportedly directed female employees in the Nashik unit of the TCS to dress and behave in accordance with Islamic traditions. Based on the complaints against her, a first information report (FIR) was registered against her under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
She was also booked under Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act because one of the complaints was a SC. The case is now being probed by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) after Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis warned of severe action.
AIMIM corporator accused of sheltering Khan
It has also been alleged that a corporator of the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) had sheltered Khan in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. The corporator has now received a notice from the civic body over "illegal" construction.
The civic body has asked the corporator, Matin Patel (Shaikh), to produce the permission documents concerning a 600-square-foot house owned by him at Kausar Park in the Naregaon area. "We have given the notice to Matin Patel through the encroachment department and have sought clarification. After the prescribed time limit, we will act as per law," Mayor Sameer Rajurkar told news agency PTI.
Meanwhile, Khan has received backing from AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi, who said she is being subjected to a "media trial".
"Nida Khan was transferred from her job before the FIR was registered. We all have seen the statement of TCS. It says she is not connected in any manner to the HR department. Nine FIRs have been registered so far and in one of them, Nida Khan has been named for allegedly hurting religious sentiments," he said last week.
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