Thirteen years after accusing Tarun Tejpal of rape, his former colleague has taken to Substack to recount her ordeal, the trauma of the trial, and how she was repeatedly reduced to labels like “victim”, “liar” and “political plant”.
In November 2013, when the sexual assault case against Tejpal was dominating headlines, Sibal told The Sunday Express that he had donated Rs 5 lakh to Tejpal in 2003, when Tehelka was starting its print edition.
The fact that Newslaundry published the rape apologist article, did not feel sorry for the trauma caused to the victim and dared to later remove it with a standard 'self-reflection' note highlighted how the rot ran deep into the system.
A division bench of Justice Dr Neela Gokhale and Justice Amit Jamsandekar pronounced Tarun Tejpal guilty of the offences of rape and sexual harassment under Sections 376(2)(f) and 376(2)(k), in addition to Sections 354A, 354B of the Indian Penal Code.
Back in 2021, Tarun Tejpal was acquitted by a Goa Sessions Court in the sexual assault case. His acquittal was challenged by the Goa government before the High Court.
The apology from Tehelka chief Tarun Tejpal and Aniruddha Bahal to Major General MS Ahluwalia (Retd) was published on page 11 of Delhi edition of Hindustan Times.
"The alleged use of women, liquor, and money by the reporters to lure the unsuspecting in this whole episode have worked against Tehelka in the long term," wrote Media Ethics Magazine in its case study.
OpIndia's Nirwa Mehta dissects Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub's writeup 'The Gujarat Files' which she claims is a damning evidence against PM Modi and HM Shah and their role in the riots and encounters in Gujarat. Except, these don't add up.