A court on Saturday denied anticipatory bail to Nida Khan, an accused in the alleged sexual exploitation and religious coercion case linked to the Tata Consultancy Services BPO in Nashik.
Referring to her offence as a “serious one”, the court stressed that Nida Khan was one of the prime accused in the case, deeming her custodial interrogation to be “necessary”, Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar said.
“The court rejected Nida Khan’s bail application today. The final order will be uploaded soon,” PTI news agency cited public prosecutor Ajay Misar as saying. Khan had cited her pregnancy while seeking pre-arrest bail. A search is underway for her in different parts of Maharashtra.
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Meanwhile, the police custody of four other accused in the 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) of the Nashik Police has arrested eight persons in the case till now, including a female operations manager, and nine FIRs have been registered in the matter.
What are the allegations against Khan?
The probe agencies had opposed Nida Khan’s anticipatory bail plea earlier, stating that they had discovered crucial leads in the case and arguing that her interrogation was necessary for further investigation.
In one of the complaints, one woman has accused Khan of hurting her religious sentiments. The prosecution argued in court that the complainant had alleged that Khan allegedly changed her name to “Haniya” and promised to get her a job in Malaysia while she continued to persuade the complainant of converting her religion, according to an earlier HT report.
The prosecution further alleged that Khan had warned the complainant that if she does not convert, it would bring misfortune to her family. Khan had also allegedly given training to the complainant on how to offer namaz and wear hijab at her house, and had installed Islamic applications on her phone, according to the SIT.
What is known about Nida Khan?
Nida’s father had earlier said she was in Mumbai, adding that she is pregnant and expecting her first child. Nida was married last year, and had moved to Mumbai to stay with her husband.
Contrary to reports initially circulating on television and social media, Khan was not working in the BPO’s human resources department and was employed as a telecaller in the sales team, her family said, according to an earlier HT report.
