Nashik court rejects anticipatory bail application of wanted TCS woman staffer

Nashik: A Nashik Road district and additional sessions court on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail plea of a woman employee of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) in connection with a rape case and offences under the Prevention of Atrocities Act, in which she is accused along with two other men.The accused woman, whose whereabouts have been unknown since the FIR was registered, had filed her anticipatory bail application on April 20. After hearing arguments from the prosecution, defence and lawyers representing the complainant, additional sessions judge Kedar Joshi denied her relief.Special public prosecutor Ajay Misar said, "The court found the accusations to be serious, warranting a detailed investigation and custodial interrogation to uncover the full extent of the crime."He added that the prosecution argued the woman was a key conspirator who allegedly planned the offence with the co-accused and actively assisted them.In a related development, the court of additional chief judicial magistrate S V Lad on Saturday extended the custody of four other TCS employees accused in a linked case involving sexual harassment and religious coercion till May 5.The special investigation team had arrested the four accused on April 23 in a case registered by the Mumbai Naka police under BNS sections 75 (sexual harassment), 79 (acts intended to insult a woman's modesty), 299 and 302 (acts and words intended to outrage religious feelings). They were already in judicial custody in another case at the time of their arrest.Police said a total of nine cases have been registered against eight TCS employees in connection with the matter. The four accused were initially remanded in police custody till April 29, which was later extended to May 2 and now to May 5.Misar said the complainant in this case is a male and that the prosecution sought extended custody to probe the alleged use of intoxicating substances mixed into the complainant's drinks, examine laptops and electronic devices of the accused, and scrutinise bank statements to determine whether any financial transactions were linked to alleged religious conversion attempts.Taking into account the prosecution's arguments, the court extended the police custody of the accused till May 5.