The police have formed a Special Investigation Team led by ACP Sandeep Mitke to investigate nine related cases involving eight accused, including two women, all of whom are currently in custody.

Nashik: City police interrogated one on Thursday AIMIM Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar corporator faces probe for over four hours over his alleged role in giving shelter to a woman accused in a case of sexual harassment and hurting religious sentiments, even as a Special Investigation Team (SIT) deepens its probe into the wider network behind the incident.The accused woman, a TCS employee, evaded arrest for several days after being named in a case registered at Deolali Camp police station and was eventually caught from Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.A senior police officer requesting anonymity said the role of an AIMIM councilor has come under the scanner for allegedly assisting the accused during his escape. “The Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar councilor was involved in providing shelter to the accused woman and as a result, both he and the owner of the house where she lived have been named as co-accused in the complaint lodged at Devlali Camp,” the officer said.The police have formed a Special Investigation Team led by ACP Sandeep Mitke to investigate nine related cases involving eight accused, including two women, all of whom are currently in custody.Police said key evidence has already been collected, especially about how the accused secured the residence while evading arrest. Police said they have established that the keys of a house in Sambhajinagar were handed over to the woman and her family members, due to which the owner of the house was named as a co-accused.The purpose of the ongoing questioning of the councilor is to establish deeper relationships and possible coordination. An investigating officer said, “The primary task now is to determine the exact nature of the relationship between the councilor and the accused woman, including who introduced her, the purpose of the introduction and whether there was an intermediary. We are also probing the underlying intentions and the specific reasons why the woman, who is from Nashik and lives in Mumbai, was provided shelter in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar?”