3 min readMay 3, 2026 04:12 PM IST
Nashik Police on Friday added a poisoning charge in the TCS Nashik case, telling a magistrate’s court that fresh allegations suggest the complainant may have been drugged before being coerced into actions against his will.
The court extended police custody of the four accused till May 5.
Invoking Section 328 of the Indian Penal Code which pertains to causing hurt by means of poison, stupefying or intoxicating substances with intent to commit an offence the police informed the court that the new charge was added during the course of investigation in Case No. 166.
The four accused Tausif Attar, Danish Shaikh, Shahrukh Qureshi and Raza Memon are already facing allegations including coercion, harassment and attempts at religious conversion.
According to the police, the poisoning charge stems from a supplementary statement given by the complainant, a 35-year-old TCS employee from Nashik. He has now alleged that on one occasion, he was given a drink of a popular brand after which he began to feel dizzy. The accused allegedly then took him to a restaurant, where he was forced to consume non-vegetarian food against his wishes.
Investigators told the court that these disclosures were not part of the original FIR and emerged during subsequent questioning, prompting the addition of Section 328.
Public prosecutor Ajay Misar argued that further custodial interrogation was necessary to trace the source of the alleged intoxicants and reconstruct the sequence of events.
He also told the court that investigators had come across internal company emails indicating prior complaints against the accused.
Story continues below this ad
The prosecution further claimed that police had uncovered financial linkages involving the accused that extended from Malegaon to Malaysia, which would need to be probed. It also told the court that allegations related to the use of “black magic” had surfaced during the investigation and required examination.
The defence opposed both the addition of Section 328 and the extension of custody.
Advocate Umesh Walzade argued that the allegation of poisoning relates to an incident that allegedly occurred years ago, raising questions about the feasibility of forensic verification.
“One of the key pieces of evidence in such cases is chemical analysis to establish poisoning or intoxication. If the incident is from years ago, how does the prosecution intend to prove this?” he said, alleging that “new sections are being added to prolong custody unnecessarily.”
Story continues below this ad
The case is among nine FIRs registered so far in connection with the TCS Nashik matter and is the only one where the complainant is a male employee.
In his complaint, the employee has alleged sustained workplace harassment by the accused between 2022 and March 2026.
He claimed that his colleagues repeatedly mocked his religious beliefs, made derogatory remarks about Hindu deities and attempted to pressure him into adopting their religion.
He has further alleged that he was forced into religious practices such as wearing a cap and offering namaz, coerced into reciting religious verses, and threatened into consuming non-vegetarian food despite his beliefs.
Story continues below this ad
The complaint also details allegations of verbal abuse, intimidation, inappropriate remarks about his wife, and attempts to create a hostile work environment.
