Court denies anticipatory bail to Nida Khan in Nashik TCS case; custodial interrogation deemed necessary

Khan's father said she was in Mumbai and pregnant, expecting her first child, and that she had married last year and moved to Mumbai to stay with her husband. The family clarified that Khan was not employed in the BPO's human resources department, but as a telecaller in the sales team, contradicting some initial reports.

In one complaint, a woman accused Khan of hurting her religious sentiments. The prosecution alleged that Khan changed her name to 'Haniya', promised a job in Malaysia, and urged the complainant to convert her religion. It was claimed that Khan warned of misfortune to her family if she did not convert, and that she provided training on how to offer namaz and wear hijab, and installed Islamic applications on the complainant's phone.

Prosecutors stated that they had opposed Nida Khan's anticipatory bail plea, citing crucial leads in the investigation and arguing that her interrogation was necessary to pursue those leads and advance the probe.

The SIT had arrested eight people in the case to date, including a female operations manager, and nine FIRs had been registered related to the matter.

Police custody of four other accused in the Nashik BPO case—Raza Rafiq Memon (35), Tausif Bilal Attar (37), Danish Ejaz Sheikh (32) and Shahrukh Husain Shaukat Qureshi (34)—was extended till May 5. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) is investigating the case, with eight persons already arrested and nine FIRs registered.

A sessions court in Nashik denied anticipatory bail to Nida Khan in the alleged sexual exploitation and religious coercion case linked to the Tata Consultancy Services BPO. The court described the offence as serious and ruled that custodial interrogation was necessary; the final order would be uploaded later. Khan had cited pregnancy while seeking pre-arrest bail, and a search for her was underway across Maharashtra.