New Delhi: News magazine Tehelka’s attempt to cover up the alleged sexual assault of a woman employee crumbled with the Goa police filing a FIR against the accused, editor Tarun Tejpal, on Friday.
A woman journalist on the magazine staff has accused Tejpal of sexually assaulting her inside an elevator in a Goa five-star hotel during the “Think Festival” organised by Tehelka a fortnight ago. The Goa police booked Tejpal on charges that include rape and has despatched a police team to Delhi to interrogate and possibly arrest him. The team is expected to arrive in Delhi on Saturday.
Hard for Tejpal to escape law
Imprisonment for life till the remaining period of a man’s natural life is the punishment for rape committed by “a person who is in a position of trust or authority towards the person raped’’. The new anti-rape law passed by Parliament this year leaves little window for the accused to go scot free, for the first time, making the definition of rape “gender specific’’ and broad-based explaining that absence of physical struggle does not equal consent.
Incidentally, the new law is even stricter if the offence is committed by “a person who is in a position of trust or authority towards the person raped’’. In such cases, the accused can face ten years rigorous imprisonment which can extend to life imprisonment which means “remainder of that person’s natural life’’.
The stringent provisions in the Criminal Law Amendment Act 2013 says a “man’’ has committed “rape’’ if he “penetrates his penis or any other object or part of body, to any extent, into the vagina, urethra or anus of a woman or makes her do so with him or any other person’’ “against her will’’ or “without her consent’’.
Tejpal promises full cooperation
Tejpal betrayed us: Girl’s family
Sanjay Basak |?DC
New Delhi: The family of the woman journalist who was allegedly sexually assaulted by her employer, Tarun Tejpal, is devastated.
Tejpal was a “close friend” of the victim’s father, a senior journalist, who has been struggling after a major accident a few years ago. The accident had left him with serious head injuries.
Both Tejpal and the victim’s father had worked together in a weekly English newsmagazine. Tejpal being a “buddy”, the father had asked him to “take his daughter under his wing and guide her as she took her first steps in journalism”, a close friend of the family said. Tejpal honoured his friend’s request and became the girl’s mentor.
But then, on the night of November 7, everything changed. “The protector turned a predator... and a father’s trust was betrayed,” a person close to the family said. “The family is yet to come to terms with what really happened... mainly because the alleged perpetrator was none other than Tarun, the man they trusted, they had believed in,” said a senior journalist.
The victim, who had admired and looked up to Tejpal, is now completely traumatised.
Tejpal had known the victim since her childhood, and she would often “seek his advice on life and work”, a journalist friend said.
To her, Tejpal had always been a paternal figure. The victim also looked up to Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury, as one of her mentors.
On the fateful night when the girl had protested against Tejpal’s alleged advances and sexual assault inside the lift at a hotel in Goa, he allegedly threatened that “this is the easiest way for you to keep your job”. When the alleged incident took place at the “Think” festival, organised by Tehelka, both Tejpal’s wife and daughter were present. Tejpal’s daughter is believed to be one of the victim’s closest friends.
Political leaders bay for blood
Suggesting that the victim in Tarun Tejpal alleged sexual assault case opting for an in-house inquiry by Tehelka and not go for a criminal probe is an “accused-friendly” approach, the BJP on Friday insisted that the two options should complement each other instead of being alternatives. JD(U) demanded that the case should be dealt with in the same manner as the case against Asaram Bapu.
Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley emphasised that everybody should encourage victims to depose “truly and faithfully” as punishing an offender acts as a deterrent in the larger interest of society. The BJP claimed a criminal offence is not just a crime against a victim but also a crime against society.
Women and child development minister Krishna Tirath said she has written to the NCW seeking details about the case. “I have written to the NCW asking them to do whatever it takes to dig out more details about the alleged sexual assault,” she said.
