Pune/Nashik, April 16 -- The Nashik City Police have sought assistance from central and state intelligence agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), to examine whether any of the accused in the alleged sexual abuse and religious coercion case at a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)-linked business process outsourcing (BPO) unit had links to extremist organisations or received funding from abroad. To be sure, no such links have been established so far. Meanwhile, a Nashik court on Wednesday remanded the operations-cum-HR manager of the BPO unit, arrested on April 13, to 14 days of magisterial custody. Seven of the eight accused-six men and one woman-have been arrested so far, while one woman remains missing. Police said all eight accused held senior positions at the firm, including team leads, and allegedly misused their authority. Addressing a press conference, Nashik police commissioner Sandeep Karnik said that details of the case have been shared with the NIA, ATS and other intelligence agencies. "Only after receiving inputs from them can we determine whether the accused had any international links or external support for such unlawful activities," he said. The probe, which began as an inquiry into workplace misconduct, has expanded following multiple complaints. Police have registered nine FIRs between March 26 and April 3, based on allegations by nine junior employees involving sexual abuse, harassment and religious coercion. Karnik said all seven male accused have been named in multiple FIRs. One case has been registered against the operations-cum-HR manager for allegedly discouraging a complainant from filing a sexual harassment complaint and for hurting religious sentiments. The other woman accused, who is missing, faces charges related to religious harassment. According to the police, one complaint by a male employee pertains to alleged attempts at religious conversion at the workplace. "One female employee has alleged rape on the pretext of offering a job and marriage, while the remaining complaints pertain to sexual harassment and hurting religious sentiments," Karnik said. He added that the first complainant was counselled, following which officers visited the workplace in plain clothes to encourage other employees to come forward. TCS has suspended the accused employees pending the investigation. In a statement on April 13, Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran termed the allegations "gravely concerning and anguishing" and announced an internal probe. The BPO unit employs around 150 people....