Issues immigration alert, records girl’s statement; Delhi HC refuses interim relief for Tehelka editor
The noose tightened around rape accused Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal on Tuesday as Goa Police recorded the statement of the victim in Mumbai and issued an “immigration checkpost alert” against him.
The alert would prevent Tejpal from leaving the country.
The day brought more bad news for Tejpal, who is accused of sexually assaulting his junior colleague on November 7 and 8 at a hotel in Goa, as he failed to get interim protection against arrest from the Delhi High Court.
The court fixed his anticipatory bail plea hearing for Wednesday. Deputy Inspector-General OP Mishra told a Press conference in Panjim that they got full cooperation from the victim during their visit to Mumbai. “She is co-operating with us fully,” Mishra said and added that the victim’s statement had been recorded by the Investigating Officer.
“All immigration and border check points have been alerted to ensure that Tejpal does not leave the country. The investigator should be informed if he wants to leave,” Mishra said. He termed it as a “precautionary measure.”
The immigration alert at airports and ports was issued minutes after the journalist deposed before the Goa Crime Branch team investigating the case in Mumbai.
The victim will now be taken to Goa where she will again have to record her statement in the presence of a Judicial Magistrate under Section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code. This would ensure that the contents of her statement can be used in a court of law.
In Delhi, the High Court refused to grant interim protection against arrest to Tejpal, who made accusations of political bias in the probe conducted by the BJP-ruled Goa and dismissed the charges of sexual assault as a “light-hearted bantering which lead to a moment of privacy between two individuals.”
Justice Sunita Gupta also asked the counsel for Goa Police to file its reply, if any, and fixed the hearing of Tejpal’s anticipatory bail plea for Wednesday.
The Delhi Police also opposed the plea for grant of any transit bail to Tejpal who termed the FIR as politically motivated, alleging that the Goa Chief Minister was taking undue interest in the matter.
“I am opposing the matter due to the seriousness of the allegations against the accused,” the counsel for Goa Police said, adding that he has not been supplied with the copy of the petition by the accused journalist.
Senior advocate KTS Tulsi and Geeta luthra, appearing for Tejpal, said that he should be protected against any possible arrest till Wednesday, when this court will recommence hearing on the bail application.
Terming one of the two incidents as “only light hearted bantering,” Tejpal’s bail petition said: “The nature of the said meeting can be easily established by perusal of the CCTV footage of Hyatt Hotel, which is within the knowledge and reach of the Goa Police, but the same has been blatantly ignored by the investigating agency.
Tejpal said that his woman colleague continued to party and was completely normal and friendly all throughout her stay in Goa. “She was at every party and social event through the conference and stayed out late in the night,” he said.
Terming the complaint of the victim as “motivated, false and an afterthought,” the petition said it was filed after a delay of ten days. It also refuted the allegations against Tejpal.