CHENNAI ■ MADURAI ■ VIJAYAWADA BENGALURU ■ KOCHI ■ HYDERABAD ■ VISAKHAPATNAM ■ COIMBATORE ■ KOZHIKODE ■ THIRUVANANTHAPURAM ■ BELAGAVI ■ BHUBANESWAR ■ SHIVAMOgGA ■ MANGALURU ■ TIRUPATI ■ TIRUCHY ■ TIRUNELVELI ■ SAMBALPUR ■ HUBBALLI ■ DHARMAPURI ■ KOTTAYAM ■ KANNUR ■ VILLUPURAM ■ KOLLAM ■ TADEPALLIGUDEM ■ NAGAPATTINAM ■ THRISSUR ■ KALABURAGI ■ ■ hyderabad l tuesday l april 14, 2026 l `9.00 l PAGES 16 l LATE City EDITION Shocking charges of conversion at TCS Nashik PADMINI D H R U VARA J @ Bengaluru WITH the sexual harassment case at the Nashik office of Tata Consultancy Services taking a religious turn over allegations of forced conversion, the company said the matter would be probed by Chief Operating Officer Aarthi Subramanian. Calling the allegations “gravely concerning and anguishing”, Tata Sons Chairman N Chandrasekaran said the matter was being treated with utmost seriousness. He said action had already been initiated against the accused staff and the company was extending full cooperation to the ongoing investigation. “Appropriate and stringent action will be taken against those found guilty. Any necessary process improvements or corrective measures will be promptly implemented and strictly enforced,” he added. Last week, police formed a special investigation team to probe the complaints lodged by eight employees, who said senior colleagues mentally and sexually harassed them, and the HR department ignored their complaints. Police have arrested seven persons, including the HR manager. The Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), an employees’ body representing IT sector workers, approached the Ministry of Labour and Employment seeking a detailed audit of Prevention of Sexual Harassment compliance (POSH) at TCS. Southwest monsoon rainfall to be below normal this year: IMD | p7 Tehran warns of attacks as US blockade of ports begins, oil touches $100 again A g e n c i e s @ Dubai, Washington THE US on Monday walked the talk on blocking all maritime traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports from 7.30 pm IST, the deadline it had set for the exercise. President Donald Trump warned that any Iranian attack boats that approach the naval blockade will be “eliminated”. The US Central Command said US forces would not impede vessels transiting the Strait to and from non-Iranian ports. Trump’s warnings set the stage for an extraordinary showdown that poses serious risks for the global economy and raises the spectre that the ceasefire could collapse and the war could resume. Talks aimed at ending the conflict, which began February 28 with US and Israeli strikes on Iran, failed to reach an agreement this past weekend in Pakistan. Top-ranking Iranian officials threatened retaliation. Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for the Bandar Abbas Strait of Hormuz Iran Khasab Oman Sharjah Dubai Abu Dhabi Sohar Al Ain Oman United Arab Emirates day 45 Oil tankers (red) and cargo ships (green) stuck around the Hormuz at 7 pm IST. The US’ blockade of Iranian ports aims to force Iran to give up control of the strait | Marine traffic Iranian parliament’s National Security Commission, dismissed US warnings as bluster while warning that “Tehran was prepared to respond if the situation escalates militarily Iranian par. liament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, addressed Trump in a statement: “If you fight, we will fight... Tehran will not bow to any threats.” Meanwhile, Russia said it stands ready to take in Iran’s highly enriched uranium as part of a future peace deal with the US, the Kremlin said on Monday . Globally, leaders urged restraint. Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was “holding”. Qatar’s foreign minister and Premier Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani told his Iranian counterpart that Iran and US should engage positively . France and Britain will co-host a conference this week involving more than 40 nations to discuss a multinational mission to restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. China, which is reliant on energ y supplies coming through the strait, called for “unimpeded” navigation through the waterway Oil prices, meanwhile, . went back above $100 per barrel. Pope Leo XIV said the Vatican’s appeals for peace are rooted in the Gospel, and that he doesn’t fear the Trump administration. PM Modi Delimitation: CM for hybrid model says India on brink of Historic quota India is on the brink of making a big decision as Parliament will meet to end “decades of waiting” by amending the Women’s Reservation Act for its implementation in 2029, the PM said on Monday | P7 m a n d a r av i n d e r r e d dy @ Hyderabad Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Monday proposed a hybrid model for increasing Lok Sabha seats, while calling for wider consultations with civil society and stakeholders on delimitation and seat expansion. He said, “We want to propose a hybrid model. The Union government plans to increase Lok Sabha seats by 50%. That means 272 seats will be added. Under the hybrid model, we propose that 136 seats be increased on a pro-rata basis and another 136 based on the GSDP of all states.” He also demanded that the Centre convene an all-party meeting. Revanth said he would write to his counterparts in southern and smaller states that may be adversely affected by delimitation. Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat, Revanth said the Centre should build consensus. “It should take suggestions from civil society and other stakeholders through wider consultations,” he said.   continued on P4 SC refuses relief for Bengal voters removed from roll S U C H I T RA K A LYAN M O H AN T Y @ New Delhi The Supreme Court said on Monday that it cannot hear people whose appeals against exclusion from the voter list are pending before the appellate tribunals to vote in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. The court noted that about 34 lakh appeals filed by people challenging their non-inclusion in the voter list are pending before the tribunals. “We cannot create a situation where we burden the appellate tribunal judges,” a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said. “We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities,” Justice Bagchi said. The bench was hearing a batch of petitions filed by those whose appeals against their exclusions from the voter roll are pending before the appellate tribunals. inside 6 firms in future City master plan race I P2 Pirojsha Godrej to don Nadir cap I P10