Imtiyaz Jaleel, former India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) MP, has been identified as an accused by the police in a supplementary chargesheet filed in the sexual harassment and religious conversion case at TCS’s Nashik unit for aiding key accused Nida Khan when she was evading arrest. He is the Maharashtra state president of his party.
“The former AIMIM MP from Sambhajinagar was made one of the 11 accused in the case after his role was established in helping provide shelter to her when she was on the run. We have also taken his statement with respect to his involvement in the case,” stated Assistant Commissioner of police Sandeep Mitke (Crime). Two chargesheets have already been submitted by the SIT in the case.
“Imtiaz Jaleel is a prime accused in this case. He has been booked by the (Nashik) police. He will have to go to jail. The government has taken the matter seriously, and the police are investigating the case in a similar manner. Jaleel’s call records and voice samples match,” Shiv Sena leader and state cabinet minister Sanjay Shirsat mentioned during a press conference on 6th November (Friday).
He added, “The party corporator was merely a pawn. It has not happened in just a single day. Nida Khan stayed here for 35 days with relatives. Everything happened on Jaleel’s orders.”
According to a lawyer for one of the victims, the chargesheet was before Additional Sessions Judge Amit Kharkar’s court in Nashik. The Nashik police Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the case at the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Nashik unit uncovered a link between Jaleel and Mateen Patel, his party’s corporator from Naregao, who had previously been detained for sheltering Khan while she was in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
As a result, Jaleel received a notice requesting his appearance under section 35(3) of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), a month earlier. According to the attorney, he is named as an accused in the chargesheet pertaining to the case filed at the Deolali Camp police station. He failed to show up for court, and the legal process will proceed as per the law. He will be required to appear in court or request bail if the judge issues a summons.
The SIT disclosed that as police were looking for Khan, Mateen was harbouring her at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar in central Maharashtra, almost 200 kilometres from Nashik. On 8th August, he was questioned and taken into custody. Both Patel and co-accused Hanif Khan, who owned the flat where she stayed, were charged.
Nine complaints of exploitation, attempt at forced conversion, harming religious sentiments, molestation, and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS facility are being investigated by the SIT. The Mumbai Naka police station in Nashik received eight cases, while the Deolali Camp police station received one. Authorities revealed that these acts have been occurring in the unit since July 2022, after eight victims came forward with their accusations.
