No formal complaints found in Nashik preliminary review, says TCS

Tata Consultancy Service said on Friday that it has not received through its official reporting systems any formal complaints of the nature that are being alleged.

The Maharashtra Police are investigating allegations of religious conversion and sexual misconduct at TCS’ Nashik facility. The company, which is also conducting an internal investigation into the allegations, said it has hired independent counsel to assist the probe and set up a board-level committee to oversee it.

“While detailed reviews are still underway, a preliminary review of the systems and records pertaining to the Nashik unit indicates that we have not received any complaints of the nature that are being alleged on either our ethics or POSH (Prevention of Sexual Harassment) channels,” chief executive officer K Krithivasan said in a news release.

The company said it has engaged a team of experts from consultancy firm Deloitte and law firm Trilegal as independent counsel to the internal investigation led by chief operating officer Aarthi Subramanian. The findings of the internal investigation will be presented to the ‘Oversight Committee’ chaired by Keki Mistry, an independent director of the company, TCS said.

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The company denied media reports that its Nashik unit had been shut down. The facility continues to operate and serves its clients, it said.

The press release furnished some details about the case. Nida Khan, who has been named in connection with the case, served as a process associate and did not hold any leadership responsibilities. She was neither an HR manager nor responsible for recruitment, it said.

“We continue to extend full cooperation to the law enforcement agencies so that the matter is investigated thoroughly, transparently and brought to a rightful conclusion,” Krithivasan said.

The Nashik city police also issued an advisory to citizens to refrain from reporting anything that is speculative and that the corporate entity has been cooperating in the probe.

“Citizens, media personnel, and digital platform users are strongly urged to exercise caution and restraint while consuming or sharing information. Circulation of unverified and/or speculative content can hamper ongoing investigations and create unnecessary panic,” the statement said.

“The concerned corporate entity” has also extended full cooperation to the investigation, including for other related allegations—religious harassment & attempts to conversion; and has demonstrated a responsible approach in addressing the matter,” it said.

Also Read: TCS harassment case may trigger tighter client, board scrutiny of IT firms