The Goa Police on Saturday carried out investigations at Tehelka’s posh Greater Kailash office and is believed to have taken possession of all the documents pertaining to the sexual assault case involving its Editor Tarun Tejpal and a woman journalist at the magazine.
Meanwhile, a statement by the woman journalist circulated to TV channels said a member of Tejpal’s immediate family came to her mother’s house in New Delhi and asked her to “protect Tejpal and demanded to know who I was seeking legal help from and what I wanted as the result of my complaint of sexual molestation by Tejpal”.
“This visit has placed tremendous emotional pressure on my family and me at an intensely traumatic time. I fear this may be the beginning of a period of further intimidation and harassment”, said the statement adding “I call upon all persons connected to Tejpal and his associates to refrain from approaching me or my family members.”
The three-member team of Goa Police led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Sammy Tavares which arrived here around 11.30 am, reached Tehelka’s office and scrutinised documents, including the laptop and I-pad of the magazine’s Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury.
A woman journalist had alleged that Tejpal had sexually assaulted her during the magazine’s ‘Think’ festival in Goa some two weeks ago. Earlier in the day, Goa Police landed at the Indira Gandhi International Airport and headed for Goa Sadan in New Delhi district where officials from the Delhi Police Crime Branch held a meeting with them.
According to sources, the possibility of Tejpal being taken to Goa for further questioning was discussed. The Goa Police team did not visit Tejpal’s Jangpura Extension house, but accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, they arrived at Tehelka’s office at 4 pm where they were joined by Shoma Chaudhury.
Tejpal was not present in the office as he is busy consulting his lawyers. The change in his stance is an outcome of this briefing by his lawyers, a police official said. When asked about specifics of the visit, a police official said that they needed to talk to the Managing Editor since she was in know of the entire case and her statement is important as the victim had written a detailed e-mail to her about the sexual assault that she alleged took place on two occasions in Goa.
“The Managing Editor had erred by not informing the law enforcing agencies about the cognizable crime that had taken place. It was incumbent upon her to immediately bring it to the notice of the concerned law enforcing agency and by not doing so, she had violated Sections 201/202 of the Indian Penal Code. We are examining the sequence of events prior and after the commission of the crime and appropriate action will be taken in due course of time,” said a senior police officer of Goa Police.
Meanwhile, Goa’s Deputy Inspector-General of Police (DIGP) OP Mishra said on Saturday that they have been provided the CCTV footage by the hotel’s management but there was no CCTV camera inside the elevator of the five-star hotel where the incident allegedly took place.
“The CCTV footage is being analyzed and it would be too early to reach any conclusion. An investigation has been launched and the Crime Branch is moving scientifically,”Mishra added.
Sources told The Pioneer that Investigating Officer (IO) Inspector Sunita Sawant has taken possession of the all the material pertaining to the communication between the victim and the Managing Editor as that is a crucial link in the case. The sleuths have also asked for the text of the 11 messages that Tejpal reportedly sent to the woman journalist in Goa after the incident.
The IO is also believed to have spoken to three male staffers of Tehelka whose names the journalist had mentioned in her e-mail to the Managing Editor. The three are likely to be co-opted as eyewitnesses as their testimony would establish the crime, source added.