Nashik, May 2 (PTI) A court in Nashik on Saturday rejected the anticipatory bail application of Nida Khan, an accused in a case related to alleged sexual harassment and forcible religious conversion at the Nashik unit of TCS, after the prosecution stressed the need for her custodial interrogation.

"The offence is a serious one, Nida Khan is one of the prime accused and therefore her custodial interrogation is necessary. The court rejected Nida Khan's bail application today. The final order will be uploaded soon," public prosecutor Ajay Misar told reporters.

According to the FIR, Khan allegedly advised women employees to dress and behave in accordance with Islamic traditions.

Khan had sought pre-arrest bail, citing her pregnancy.

A search is underway for Khan in different parts of Maharashtra, police had said.

The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of the Nashik Police is probing nine cases of sexual harassment of some female employees at the IT major's Nashik unit by their male colleagues. The SIT has arrested eight persons, including a female operations manager, by registering nine FIRs.

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) had last month stated that the firm has adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards harassment and coercion of any form for a long time.

Meanwhile, the police custody of four other accused in the case, Raza Rafiq Memon (35), Tausif Bilal Attar (37), Danish Ejaz Sheikh (32) and Shahrukh Husain Shaukat Qureshi (34), was extended till May 5 on Saturday.

They were taken into custody by the SIT on April 23, and produced in court the next day, which had then remanded them in police custody till April 29. They were again produced in court on April 29, and were remanded in police custody till May 2.

The prosecution told court there was need for further custody as more investigation needs to be done in the case. PTI COR AVI KRK NSK BNM

Anticipatory bail and custodial interrogation shape a Nashik harassment probe involving alleged coercion and multiple accused. A Nashik court rejected the anticipatory bail application of a TCS employee accused in a case involving alleged sexual harassment and forcible religious conversion, after the prosecution said custodial interrogation was necessary. The case is part of a wider SIT investigation into multiple FIRs concerning alleged sexual harassment at the company's Nashik unit, while police custody of four other accused was extended for further investigation.