Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the sexual harassment incident at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services was being treated “with the utmost seriousness” and Aarthi Subramanian, Chief Operating Officer at TCS, would lead the investigation into the incident.

“A thorough investigation is underway to establish the facts and identify all individuals responsible for this situation,” said Chandrasekaran, adding that the complaints and allegations emerging from the Nashik branch were “gravely concerning and anguishing.”

“Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty. Any necessary process improvements or corrective measures will be promptly implemented and strictly enforced,” he added.

On Friday, the Nagpur police had arrested seven individuals Tausif Attar, Danish Sheikh, Shahrukh Qureshi, Raza Memon, Ashwini Chaunani, Shafi Sheikh and Aasif Ansari, with another individual Nida Khan absconding.

The police received nine FIRs alleging sexual assault, harassment, injury to religious sentiment and religious coercion over a period of four years from July 2022 to March 2026. One survivor also alleged false promises of marriage by one of the accused. Another complaint mentioned that aggrieved employees had approached Chaunani with their complaints but the accused were let go after a verbal warning.

The allegations range from inappropriate touching, stalking and obscene remarks to more serious charges such as sexual exploitation and coercion into religious practices.

The police have formed a 12-member SIT under an ACP-rank officer, with the probe based on both technical and physical evidence.

According to media reports, local politicians have called for strict action labelling it as a case of “corporate jihad.” Former MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi has slammed TCS for their “tone-deaf” approach to the entire incident.

Meanwhile, one of the accused Menon’s mother said on a television channel that her son was innocent and trusted the justice system to take its due course.

Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) has asked the Union Labour Ministry to carry out a detailed audit of TCS’ POSH compliance including, constitution, independence, and functioning of Internal Committees and the role of Human Resources personnel and senior management in handling such complaints.

The employee union also asked for an examination of all sexual harassment complaints received, pending, or disposed of across TCS establishments. Further, it called for a wider state level audit of POSH compliance across IT and ITES companies operating in Maharashtra, especially large multinational organizations.

“This is not an isolated concern limited to one organization. It raises serious apprehensions about the overall state of compliance and employee protection across the IT and ITES sector, particularly in Maharashtra which houses a large number of such establishments,” said Harpreet Singh Saluja Advocate, Bombay High Court, President, NITES.

Earlier representations

With regards to employee safety, NITES said it had earlier submitted a detailed representation in 2022 to the then Labour Minister Bhupender Yadav, highlighting serious and systemic issues prevailing in the IT and ITES sector. This included lack of effective grievance redressal mechanisms, absence of proper implementation of statutory protections, non-constitution of committees mandated under law among other things.

The union pointed out that employees in the IT sector are often deprived of statutory rights, subjected to unhealthy working conditions, and lack an effective mechanism for redressal of grievances. Concerns were also raised regarding noncompliance with legal requirements such as constitution of Internal Committees under the Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace Act, absence of grievance redressal committees, and lack of accountability within organizations.

On Sunday, TCS said it has suspend the employees pending enquiry. It also sent an internal mail to employees flagging the incident and requesting associates to report similar behaviour.

Published on April 13, 2026