Tehelka Sex controversy: Tarun Tejpal booked for rape

mangaloretoday.com

PANAJI, November 22, 2013, DHNS: The Goa Police on Friday registered a rape case against Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman journalist of his organisation. PTI Image.

The Goa Police on Friday registered a rape case against Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman journalist of his organisation.

The investigators said Tehelka was not cooperating with the probe, but managing editor Shoma Chaudhury refuted the allegations. Tejpal also said he would cooperate with the investigators.

 

Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the magazine was indulging in a cover-up and it was not helping investigators.

Parrikar said: “The police have informed me that they have sent an email to the managing editor Shoma Chaudhury on Thursday at 5:18 pm.

They have confirmation that it has been received. She has been asked to cooperate in the investigation in connection with a crime which is heinous in nature.”

Director-General of Police Kishen Kumar said: “We have sent an email to Shoma Chaudhury. We asked her for a copy of victim’s complaint letter but have not got it yet.”

Deputy Inspector-General of Police O P Mishra told Deccan Herald over the phone, “We have registered a case under section 376 (rape), 376 (2) (rape by a person of a woman in his custody taking advantage of his official position) and 354 (outraging modesty) of the Indian Penal Code.”

He did not rule out arrest and said a police team will leave on Friday night for Delhi and “question Tejpal” over the issue. “We will question him first and thereafter we will decide whether to arrest him or not,” said Mishra.

Tejpal stepped down from the position of editor-in-chief two days ago after the victim made a formal complaint to Chaudhury. The victim told Chaudhury that Tejpal had sexually assaulted her at a five-star hotel earlier this month during a conference.

“We have started an internal probe into the matter after the victim approached me. She asked Tejpal for an unconditional apology which he complied with and stepped down from the position of editor-in-chief. Thereafter, she sought for an internal enquiry and we are probing the matter,” Chaudhury told Deccan Herald.

On allegations of stalling the probe, she said when the victim approached her, she formed an internal committee to probe the matter. “We are doing our best and if the police will seek any help from us, we will cooperate with them. We are not hiding anything or doing any cover-up,” she said.

The organisation has formed a committee headed by Urvashi Butalia, a publisher, to look into the matter. Butalia said: “Whether consensual or not, it was a grave transgression. So institutionally, one is not disputing her version.”

Meanwhile, Akhila Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) members held a protest outside the magazine’s office in south Delhi’s Greater Kailash on Friday. Around 30 ABVP members raised slogans against Tejpal and demanded his arrest. The Delhi Police reached the spot to prevent any untoward incident. “The demonstrators left the spot after 20 minutes peacefully,” said a senior police officer.

While the protest was on, another police team reached Tejpal’s house in Jangpura. “It was deployed at his residence to prevent any kind of chaos there,” said the officer.
 
Police said the deployment was a precautionary measure.