Nashik TCS case: AIMIM corporator’s house where accused was allegedly sheltered demolished

The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Municipal Corporation on Wednesday demolished allegedly illegal constructions at two properties linked to All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen corporator Matin Patel, including the house where suspended Tata Consultancy Services employee Nida Khan was allegedly sheltered, The Indian Express reported

Officials said the action was carried out in the Kausar Baug area, with around 100 civic officials and police personnel deployed along with earthmovers and anti-encroachment teams.

The civic body said it had issued notices to Patel on Saturday over alleged unauthorised constructions at his residence and an office in the same locality, the newspaper reported.

Patel later approached the court seeking a stay on the matter, but it was not granted, PTI reported.

Mayor Sameer Rajurkar had said that as per the rules, Patel had three days to respond to the notice and that further action would be taken in accordance with the law if the reply was found unsatisfactory.

The mayor had also said that Patel could face disqualification if he was found to have carried out illegal construction, PTI reported.

Patel’s family had earlier submitted documents and sought additional time to respond to the notice, arguing that the three-day notice period was insufficient and cited legal safeguards against demolition without due process, The Indian Express reported.

There are no provisions in Indian law that allow for the demolition of property as a punitive measure. However, the practice has become commonplace in states ruled by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In November 2024, the Supreme Court held as illegal the practice of demolishing properties of persons accused of crimes as a punitive measure.

Khan, who had been absconding since April 10, was arrested on May 7 from a bungalow in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar’s Naregaon area that was owned by Patel.

She was held more than 40 days after being named in a first information report for allegedly hurting religious sentiments.

The case

The complainant in the matter, a 23-year-old woman, alleged that Khan taught her to recite the kalma – the Islamic declaration of faith – observe the roza fast and change her dressing behaviour.

As the complainant is a member of the Scheduled Caste community, Khan has also been booked under the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Prevention of Atrocities Act.

The police have alleged that Khan, along with two others named Danish Sheikh and Tausif Attar, had made derogatory remarks about Hindu deities.

They also alleged that while Sheikh sexually assaulted the complainant on the pretext of marriage, Attar molested her by seeking sexual favours and threatening to reveal to her family that she had physical relations at the workplace.

Between March 26 and April 3, the Nashik Police filed nine cases against eight Tata Consultancy Services employees for allegedly sexually harassing nine persons and hurting religious sentiments. The other seven TCS employees have also been arrested.

After the matter came to light, TCS suspended all the employees accused of involvement in the case and launched an internal inquiry.

On April 17, the company had said that it has a “zero-tolerance policy towards any form of coercion or misconduct”, and that it was cooperating with the law enforcement agencies “so that the matter is investigated thoroughly, transparently and brought to a rightful conclusion”.

Edited by Neerad Pandharipande