In more trouble for Tehelka’s founder-editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague, the CCTV footage sourced by Goa Police from a starred hotel here has “corroborated” the facts narrated by the woman journalist, a senior officer said on Thursday.
The CCTV footage of the area outside the elevator, in which the alleged sexual assault took place, corroborates the victim’s narration, said an officer, who is part of the team investigating the footage, on the condition of anonymity. The woman journalist had accused Tejpal of molesting her on November 7 and 8 during the ThinkFest event organized by the magazine. The footage could add to the troubles of Tejpal who has been given a 3pm deadline by police to appear before them here. The journalist registered her statement before a magistrate here on Wednesday.
“It is clear in the CCTV footage, dated November 7, outside the lift in Block 7 of the hotel that something went wrong in the lift,” the officer said. “The footage initially shows Tejpal and the woman journalist accompanying Hollywood actor Robert De Nero to the latter’s room. This was around 9pm when Tejpal is seen entering the lift with his hands on the shoulders of the young journalist,” the officer said.
He further said, “One-and-half hours later, around 10:30pm, Tejpal is seen near the same elevator on the ground floor pulling the woman inside”.