A day after the arrest of Nida Khan, one of the accused in the controversial Nashik TCS conversion case, Shiv Sena minister Sanjay Shirsat accused AIMIM leaders of supporting and hiding Khan for weeks. He alleged that Khan stayed for five days at the residence of Matin Majid Patel, an AIMIM corporator in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, citing information allegedly shared by Nashik Police.
Addressing reporters on Friday, Shirsat alleged that Khan received support from AIMIM leaders and demanded an investigation against former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel.
“This is not just about conversion; there is a much larger angle to it. Those who have supported her are from AIMIM. Former AIMIM MP Imtiaz Jaleel had even met her (Khan) recently and expressed support for her. Khan is just a small player. We want Jaleel to be investigated in this case,” Shirsat said.
Shirsat described the alleged case at the TCS office in Nashik as “corporate jihad” and alleged that AIMIM workers helped the accused remain hidden.
The political row intensified because Imtiaz Jaleel had earlier publicly acknowledged on April 21 that he had met Khan, her mother and aunt while they were absconding and would support them.
His statement had already drawn criticism from BJP and Shiv Sena leaders at the time. However, after Khan’s arrest on Thursday, those remarks once again came under focus, with Shiv Sena leaders alleging that AIMIM functionaries may have helped her while she was on the run.
This comes after Khan, a former employee of Tata Consultancy Services, was arrested on Thursday night from a bungalow in the Naregaon area of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar during a joint operation conducted by the Nashik Police and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Police.
Khan was produced before the Nashik Road Civil and Criminal Court on Friday, which remanded her to police custody till May 11. Khan is one of the accused in the Nashik TCS case, which includes allegations of sexual harassment, religious conversion and hurting religious sentiments.
She had been absconding since April 10 before police finally tracked her down this week. According to police officials, Khan had allegedly been hiding inside a quiet two-storey bungalow in the Kausar Park locality of Naregaon for several weeks before her arrest.
Though surrounded by a densely populated neighbourhood, locals said the bungalow stood slightly isolated from nearby houses, making it difficult for outsiders to notice who was staying there.
Source: India Latest News, Breaking News Today, Top News Headlines | Times Now
