Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) on Friday (April 17) said that Nida Khan -- widely described in media reports as the HR head and alleged mastermind behind claims of sexual harassment and forced religious conversion at its Nashik BPO unit -- was neither part of the HR team nor held any leadership role at the facility. She was a process associate, the company added.
A written statement by K Krithivasan, chief executive officer and managing director, TCS, said, "Ms. Nida Khan who is being repeatedly mentioned in the press as HR manager of TCS, is neither a HR manager nor responsible for recruitment. She served as a process associate and did not hold any leadership responsibilities."
This clarification assumes significance because much of the reporting and social media discourse on the case hinged on the claim that, as an HR manager overseeing recruitment, Nida Khan wielded the authority to orchestrate such alleged activities. The clarification that she was, in fact, a junior employee with no leadership role undercuts that premise and raises questions about how those allegations were framed and amplified. It also highlights the risk of a media trial, where unverified claims about an individual’s position and influence can shape public perception before facts are firmly established.
The statement, which was shared on X by TCS, also mentioned that a preliminary review of systems and records at the Nashik unit had found no complaints of the alleged nature on either its ethics or POSH channels, even as detailed reviews remained underway.
The full statement can be viewed here. A screenshot is attached below:
A Nasik police official confirmed to Alt News that the statement was authentic and that TCS had intimated the same about Nida Khan -- that she was not an HR official -- to the investigating officers. On Friday, her husband was interrogated at length by police but Khan remained untraceable, the official said.
The woman family, too, has told Hindustan Times that she was not working at the human resources department.
Media Trail: "HR Head", "HR Manager", "Mastermind"
The statement came after sections of the Indian media had gone hammer and tongs at Nida Khan, portraying her as an HR manager at the firm and the mastermind of the alleged ‘racket’.
Following the arrests of seven individuals in the case, namely Asif Ansari, Danish Sheikh, Shafi Sheikh, Shahrukh Qureshi, Raza Rafiq Menon, Tausid Attar, and Ashwini Chainani, reports emerged stating that another accused, Nida Khan, was absconding. Almost every major media outlet described her as an HR manager or HR head of the firm.
On April 14, 2026, NDTV reporters claimed that Nida Khan was an HR official at TCS Nashik. The same claim was made in multiple bulletins on the channel by Shiv Aroor.
For example, this report aired on April 14 itself. A screengrab from the show can be seen below:
On April 16, NDTV aired a prime-time show hosted by Shiv Aroor, where the claim was reiterated. The report alleged that Khan was the mastermind behind the purported activities of sexual harassment and religious conversion within the company.
This was repeated by Aroor when he reported on Nida Khan seeking anticipatory bail.
Similarly, AajTak anchor Anjana Om Kashyap referred to Khan as an HR manager at TCS and labelled her the "mastermind" behind the alleged misconduct at the office. (Archive)
News18 identified Khan as the head of HR at TCS and alleged conversion racket mastermind in multiple reports. (Archive 1, Archive 2)
Several other media outlets, including Republic Bharat, Times Now, The Economic Times, CNBC-TV18, DNA, The Mojo Story, Free Press Jounal, The Sunday Guardian, and Wion, and propaganda outlet OpIndia echoed and amplified similar claims.
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The claim was also amplified on social media by individual users with a large number of followers. Among them is X user Swati Chaturvedi, who wrote, "Nida Khan the woman HR head of TCS Nashik was called “lady D” (apparently a reference to Dawood Ibrahim) by her co religionist male colleagues..." (Archive)
Prominent Right-wing influencer handles, which peddle communal propaganda on a regular basis, did the same. Among these are Advocate Ashutosh J Dubey (@AdvAshutoshBJP), Bala (@erbmjha), Bhiku Mhatre (@MumbaichaDon), Raushan Sinha (@MrSinha), Tathvam-asi (@tathvamasi6), Oxomiya Jiyori (@SouleFacts), Jitendra Pratap Singh (@jpsin1) and others.
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