NEW DELHI: Accused by Goa police of not cooperating in the case of alleged sexual assault of a Tehelka journalist by its editor Tarun Tejpal, the magazine’s Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury today said she will be meeting the police and was ready to provide all information sought by them.
“I have been cooperating and the information in the media is wrong. Right now, I am going to meet the police and yesterday I have already sent the information the police needs. I have sent a mail earlier in the morning to them and I will be sending stuff,” she told reporters as a special team of Goa police flew to Delhi.
Chaudhury, who had yesterday asserted that they would not go to police on the issue as it was for the victim to decide on it, today said that as the case is “initiated by the state”, she will cooperate.
“There is a difference between me going to the police and initiating a case that my colleague may not want voluntarily … (and) the state initiating a case with which I will, of course, cooperate and I have been cooperating and the information in the media is wrong,” she said. . On the contention that she can be charged with destruction of evidence, Chaudhury said no such case is made out and repeated her defense that she had got the editor “to step down and apologies” despite “the fact that there is a different version”.
Her remarks yesterday that Tejpal had a “different version”, had drawn the ire of activists, who said it amounted to character assassination of the victim.
“If I am accused of destruction of evidence which is not the case as again and again I am telling you, the public record will show. It will play itself out.
“The law will take its course…. I have already said that getting the editor to step down or an unconditional apology despite the fact that there is a different version is not destruction of evidence,” she said today.
The issue came into limelight when the email by the woman journalist of his magazine alleging sexual assault was made public and Tejpal announced on Wednesday night that he was “recusing” from his job for six months.
Goa Police yesterday filed an FIR against Tejpal under Sections 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 IPC in connection with the incident that took place during an event in Goa a fortnight ago.
Police yesterday said that they had written to the Tehelka management, asking for the documents including email of the victim and the statement by Tejpal but had not received any reply.–PTI
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