Nashik: The controversy surrounding alleged religious coercion at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has intensified, with the father of one of the accused strongly denying all charges, even as serious allegations by employees continue to surface.

Bilal Fakir Mohammad Attar, father of the accused Tausif Attar, has claimed that his son has been falsely implicated in a pre-planned manner. “We are well-educated. I am a graduate, and my son has completed his BCA. Whatever is happening is wrong. It is not the fault of my son or any other child. All allegations against them are false,” he said, defending his son amid mounting scrutiny.

Meanwhile, allegations of religious coercion have emerged as the central issue in the case. A male employee has alleged that staff were forced to wear skullcaps, recite the Kalma and offer namaz as part of a pattern of workplace harassment. The complainant, who worked under Taushif Attar and Danish Sheikh, claimed that refusal to comply often resulted in intimidation, isolation, and excessive workload.

Describing his ordeal, the employee alleged a deeply hostile work environment where personal boundaries were routinely violated. he claimed that senior officials mocked employees’ personal lives. In a particularly disturbing allegation, he said he was asked to ‘send his wife’ to management while the couple was undergoing fertility treatment.

The case has widened with multiple complaints, including from women employees who alleged they were pressured to observe fasts during Ramzan, cover their heads, and, in some instances, were subjected to sexual exploitation. The complaints indicate that the accused group allegedly targeted young women employees between 18 and 25 years of age.

Police have so far registered at least nine FIRs in connection with the case, including one by a male employee citing religious harassment and attempted conversion. The FIRs detail allegations such as verbal abuse, coercion to consume non-vegetarian food, and insults directed at religious beliefs.

Eight individuals have been arrested so far, including Danish Sheikh, Tausif Attar, Raza Memon, Shahrukh Qureshi, Shafi Sheikh, Asif Aftab Ansar and Shahrukh Sheikh, along with one woman. Investigations are ongoing to establish the full extent of the alleged misconduct and determine accountability.

Thane: Police in Maharashtra’s Thane district have registered a case after a businessman alleged that veterinary raw material worth about Rs 45 lakh was pilfered from his consignment, an official said on Friday.

According to the complaint, the incident took place between January and April, during which unidentified persons allegedly stole Amprolium HCL, a veterinary raw material in powdered form.

A police official said that the businessman had dispatched a consignment to a company in Dehradun in January through a transporter from Bhiwandi in Thane district.

During transit, someone allegedly stole 41 drums of the material, weighing around 1,025 kg, and replaced them with fake substances of similar appearance.

The matter came to light when the receiver informed the supplier regarding discrepancies in the consignment.

The value of the stolen material has been estimated at Rs 44.85 lakh, police said, adding that a probe into the matter was underway.

Thane: In a massive crackdown, a Domino’s Pizza outlet in the Wonder Mall area of Thane was raided, leading to the seizure of 140 LPG gas cylinders worth Rs 4.59 lakh. The raid was reportedly conducted by the Rationing Department’s flying squad.

The seized LPG stock included cylinders from major oil marketing companies, including HPCL (Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited), BPCL (Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited), IOC (Indian Oil Corporation), and Go Gas. The report further added that of the 140 seized cylinders, 45 are filled, while the remaining 85 are empty.

This comes at a time of the ongoing West Asia conflict, when frequent cases of long queues have been seen across the city, along with a rise in the black marketing of cylinders amid the situation.

Meanwhile, in another similar case, last week, the Rationing Department in Mumbai had carried out a major action against illegal storage and transportation of LPG cylinders, seizing goods worth over Rs 40 lakh in the Wadi Bunder–Dongri area. The operation was conducted based on confidential inputs received by Chandrakant Dange, Controller of Rationing and Director of Civil Supplies in Mumbai, who also issued special directives for immediate enforcement action.

During the raid near Wadi Bunder Bridge in Dongri, officials had intercepted eight vehicles involved in illegal transportation and seized a total of 451 gas cylinders, and the value of the total confiscated material was estimated at Rs 40.61 lakh.