An AIMIM corporator from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar has been booked for helping Nida Khan, one of the key accused in the TCS-linked sexual exploitation and religious coercion case, stay hidden from police for several weeks.
Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik said corporator Mateen Majid Patel has been named in the case for providing shelter to Khan while she was absconding. Police have seized Patel’s mobile phone and are checking his call records and financial transactions as part of the investigation.
Nida Khan was arrested on Thursday night, 7th May from the Naregaon area of Sambhajinagar after a joint operation by Nashik police and local police teams. She had been on the run since late March after her anticipatory bail plea was rejected.
Police said Khan had been staying in a flat in Naregaon with her parents, brother and aunt for the last few days. Investigators claim the house was arranged through Patel and that he remained in contact with Khan and her family during this period.
After receiving information about her location, police teams kept watch in the area in plain clothes before carrying out the late-night raid. Khan was later presented before a court and sent to police custody till 11th May.
Special public prosecutor Ajay Misar said Patel has been made a co-accused in the case registered at Deolali Camp police station under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for helping an accused evade legal action.
The development has triggered political reactions in Maharashtra. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said police would investigate everyone who helped Khan while she was absconding and examine whether they had any connection with the wider conversion racket.
AIMIM spokesperson Waris Pathan said the party would not comment further as the matter is currently before the court.
So far, nine FIRs have been registered in the TCS-linked BPO case, and Nida Khan is the eighth accused to be arrested. Police are continuing their investigation into the wider network connected to the case.
