A court in Nashik has turned down the anticipatory bail plea of Nida Khan, who is among the accused in a set of cases involving allegations of sexual harassment and forcible religious conversion at the Nashik unit of Tata Consultancy Services.

The decision followed arguments from the prosecution that custodial interrogation was necessary at this stage of the investigation. Public Prosecutor Ajay Misar told the court that the offences under scrutiny were serious in nature and that Khan was considered one of the prime accused.

According to the prosecution, the court accepted the need for further questioning in custody and rejected the plea for pre-arrest bail. Khan had sought relief citing her pregnancy. Police had earlier indicated that efforts were ongoing to trace her across different parts of Maharashtra.

The case is being investigated by a Special Investigation Team constituted by Nashik Police, which is currently probing nine separate complaints filed by women employees at the company’s local unit. The allegations broadly relate to sexual harassment by male colleagues, alongside claims of coercion tied to religious practices.

So far, eight individuals have been arrested in connection with the case, including a female operations manager. Nine First Information Reports have been registered.

One of the FIRs states that Khan advised women employees to dress and conduct themselves in accordance with Islamic traditions. Beyond this, no further specific details have been made public regarding the allegations of forced religious conversion.

Meanwhile, the police custody of four other accused — Raza Rafiq Memon, Tausif Bilal Attar, Danish Ejaz Sheikh and Shahrukh Husain Shaukat Qureshi — has been extended until May 5. They were initially taken into custody on April 23 and have since been remanded multiple times as the investigation progressed.

The prosecution informed the court that additional time in custody was required to carry out further inquiries. The SIT continues to examine the complaints and gather evidence.

Tata Consultancy Services, in a statement issued last month, said it follows a zero-tolerance policy towards any form of harassment or coercion in the workplace.