New Delhi:
Nida Khan, an employee of the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) who was terminated after being named in the sexual harassment and religious conversion cases at the IT firm’s unit in Maharashtra’s Nashik, has been granted bail, with the court observing that the trauma of giving birth in prison is unbearable for any woman, drawing a comparison with the circumstances surrounding the birth of Lord Krishna.
Khan, who is now five months pregnant, was arrested on May 7 from a rented flat in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra after being on the run for nearly 25 days. Khan, who had sought bail primarily on the ground that she was pregnant, got the relief by a local court in Nashik on July 6.
“The trauma of giving birth in a prison like Lord Krishna or the related social stigma is not bearable for anyone,” Additional Sessions Judge (Nashik Road court) KG Joshi said in an order which was made available on Thursday.
“To avoid such an agonising situation and for the welcome and overall welfare of the newborn baby, it would be just and proper to exercise judicial discretion in favour of the applicant-accused,” he added.
He said that keeping the pregnant applicant detained would serve no purpose as the investigation was complete and the charge sheet had been filed.
Public prosecutor Vijay Gaikwad, along with lawyers Milind Kurkute and Nitin Pandit, appearing on behalf of one of the victims, opposed the bail pleas of Khan and co-accused Danish Shaikh, saying that enough evidence of sexual assault and religious coercion had come to the fore during the investigation of the case.
Besides her pregnancy, Khan’s lawyer, Rahul Kasliwal, claimed that she was innocent and had been falsely implicated.
He submitted that Khan was highly educated and was previously employed as an “associate” at TCS before being terminated in April.
The court allowed Khan’ bail on a personal bond of Rs 75,000 along with one solvent surety of the same amount.
Nida Khan Brainwashed Victim At TCS
The police are probing a total of nine cases registered in connection with the alleged exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit.
This specific case concerns the case registered by the Deolali Camp police station under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita provisions 69 (sexual intercourse by employing deceitful means, etc), 65 (sexual harassment), 299 (outrage religious feelings). The accused have also been booked under relevant provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the victim is a Dalit.
Nida Khan’s specific role, according to the investigation, involved brainwashing the victim by giving her a burqa and religious literature. She is also accused of installing applications concerning Islam on the victim’s mobile phone, visiting her home to teach her how to offer namaz, and showing her how to wear a hijab.
After the cases came to light, the TCS said it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time and suspended the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office.
(With agency inputs)
