Maharashtra govt sets up IT award in Rajiv Gandhi's name
Mumbai, Aug 10: Days after former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's name was removed from the country's top sports award Khel Ratna, the Maharashtra government, of which Congress is a constituent, on Tuesday set up an award in his name to felicitate information technology (IT) organizations helping society.
A government order said the award commemorates the contribution of Rajiv Gandhi, who was prime minister from 1984 to 1989, in giving impetus to the IT sector in India.
The award would be conferred on August 20, the late Congress leader's birth anniversary, every year. But this year the recipient will be selected by October 30, an official release said.
The Maharashtra Information and Technology Corporation will be the nodal agency to decide the framework for screening organizations for the award.
Rajiv Gandhi was born in Mumbai on August 20, 1944.
The Congress is one of the partners in the Maha Vikas Aghadi government in Maharashtra along with the Shiv Sena and NCP.
The BJP-led Union government last week renamed the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award as `Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award' in the memory of the hockey legend Dhyan Chand.
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Nashik TCS case: Accused Nida Khan held in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar
Nashik (PTI): Weeks after she went into hiding, a female employee of the TCS unit in Nashik, accused in a case related to alleged religious conversion and sexual harassment of some women colleagues, has been arrested, police said.
Nida Khan was held on Thursday in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, Nashik Police Commissioner Sandeep Karnik said.
Khan is an accused in the Deolali Camp police station crime register number 156/26 here, he said.
A Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik police is probing nine cases of molestation and harassment at the IT major’s Nashik unit.
It had arrested eight persons, including a female operations manager, by registering nine FIRs after allegations of exploitation, attempt of forceful conversion, hurting religious sentiments, molestation and mental harassment of female employees at the TCS unit came to light.
The SIT had launched a search for Khan in different parts of Maharashtra. She is accused of targeting employees in a WhatsApp group, pressuring them to pray and eat non-vegetarian food.
According to the FIR, Khan allegedly advised women employees to dress and behave in accordance with Islamic traditions.
Some complainants have also alleged that they were coerced or pressured into adopting religious practices, including praying, changing dietary habits, and adopting religious symbols.
Besides Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) provisions for sexual harassment and defamation, Khan has also been booked under relevant sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, as the complainant belongs to a Scheduled Caste.
On April 18, she had moved the Nashik court seeking anticipatory bail and interim protection from arrest pending the plea hearing, citing her pregnancy. Her anticipatory bail plea was rejected by a court here on May 2.
TCS has clarified that it has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time, and the employees allegedly involved in sexual harassment at the Nashik office have been suspended.
