NASHIK: A magisterial court in Nashik on Thursday ordered till April 18 the custodial remand of two accused, who are named in four of the total nine cases of alleged sexual harassment and religious conversion bids at the TCS Nashik office.The two were lodged in Nashik Road Central Prison under magisterial custody after the term of their police custody in two cases got over. The special investigation team (SIT), probing all the nine cases, secured their custody from jail on Wednesday against a production warrant in relation to a third of the four cases against them and produced them before the court on Thursday to seek their custodial remand.The third case in which the two accused are now in police custody relates to offenses under Sections 74 (assault or criminal force to a woman with intent to outrage her modesty), 75 (sexual harassment), 79 (word, gesture, or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman), and 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).Assistant Public Prosecutor (APP) Aniket Avhad said, “We had sought seven days of custody on the grounds that the case is a serious nature of offense at workplace like molestation and sexual harassment, and the investigation is currently in its primary stage.”Since the crimes occurred within the office, there is a possibility that other female employees may have complaints against the accused. Additionally, the cellphone of one suspect still needs to be seized for technical analysis, the prosecutor submitted.Meanwhile, following reports on Thursday morning that the TCS office in Nashik had shut down due to the scandal, Deputy Labor Commissioner Vikas Mali clarified the situation: “We visited the company and met with an HR official who informed us that the staff is currently working from home due to the ongoing situation. We have no reports indicating that the unit has been permanently shut down.”
