‘These Things Happen’: What Manager Arrested In TCS Nashik Case Told Victim

The survivor alleged that despite repeated complaints against the accused, no action was taken and senior officials tried to silence her.

Police detain a senior employee of TCS in Nashik, on April 15, 2026. (PTI)

In a fresh development in the alleged sexual harassment and forced religious conversion case at a TCS-linked BPO in Nashik, a survivor accused that the HR Head of the IT giant had allegedly discouraged her from submitting a sexual harassment complaint, the police have said.

The survivor alleged that despite raising repeated verbal complaints against the accused, Raza Memon, no concrete action was taken, and claimed that senior officials instead tried to silence her concerns.

“Why do you want to be in the spotlight? Just let it go; drop the matter,” the survivor alleged was told to her by the HR and Operational Manager, Ashwini Chainani, when she escalated her complaints, India Today reported.

‘These Things Happen’

News agency PTI quoted Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik as saying that Chainani, allegedly told the employee that “these things happen” and sided with the accused.

“Why do you want to be in the spotlight? Just let it go; drop the matter,” the survivor alleged was told to her by Chainani, when she escalated her complaints.

Police are probing nine complaints related to sexual assault and alleged forced religious conversion at TCS Nashik, and have so far arrested seven employees, including Chainani and six others. Another employee, Nida Khan, remains absconding.

‘Keep It Secret’

In her statement, the survivor said the alleged harassment began during her induction training in May 2023, when Raza Memon approached her while she was alone and attempted to initiate personal interaction.

He allegedly asked her to send him answers to riddles on Teams and told her to “keep this matter a secret strictly between the two of us.” At the time, she described his behaviour as “strange” but chose not to report it due to the pressure of being a new employee.

She claimed the conduct intensified over time, with Memon allegedly following her, making unwanted physical contact, and forcing conversations despite her reluctance. She also said his manner of staring made her uncomfortable.

When she reported the issue to her Quality/Training Manager in June 2023, she alleged she was told that Memon’s behaviour had been “questionable” earlier and was advised to “ensure that I never remained alone.” Her team leader, she said, gave similar advice, asking her to “stay within a group and avoid being alone,” instead of taking action against him.

The survivor further alleged that after raising complaints, Memon began targeting her by spreading rumours about her personal life, falsely linking her with a colleague and claiming they were in a relationship.

She said the harassment continued even after her marriage in November 2025, alleging that Memon made sexually suggestive remarks, including asking, “After marriage what exactly keeps you so busy at night?” In another instance in February 2026, when she applied for leave for a trip with her husband, he allegedly made inappropriate comments, asking if she was going on a honeymoon and whether she consumed alcohol.

The survivor also alleged workplace retaliation, claiming that Memon, along with colleagues Danish and Tausif, manipulated system settings to significantly increase her workload, with incoming calls being routed every second instead of the usual thirty seconds.

She said she eventually escalated the matter to senior management, including Ashwini Chainani, but alleged that instead of action, the accused were “consistently shielded.”

The survivor has now filed a formal legal complaint against Raza Memon, Shahrukh, and Ashwini Chainani.

SIT Probe Ordered

The seven male staffers, Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansar and Shahrukh Sheikh, have been named as co-accused in most of the cases, indicating they may have functioned as a group or organised gang within the office, Karnik 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.

The National Commission for Women has constituted a fact-finding committee to investigate the allegations.

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