Editor in Chief of Weekly Magazine Tehelka has stepped aside after a woman journalist alleged charges of Sexual Assault against him. Â In a Letter to Managing Editor Shoma Choudhary, squarely took the blame for this and stepped aside from his position for 6 months.
The Victim has alleged that she was assaulted by Mr Tejpal at an event the magazine organized in Goa earlier this month. Â According to her, Â the assault had taken place in an hotel elevator in Goa. CNN-IBN reports that the Goa police is seeking CCTV footage from concerned hotel.
NDTV cites a friend of Victim saying, “It happened not once, but twice and the girl is completely shattered and emotionally scarred. She continues to put forward her plea that Tehelka should set up a committee to look into sexual harassment cases according to Visakha guidelines.”
According to Tehelka’s Managing Editor Shoma Choudhary, Tejpal had rendered an “unconditional apology to the colleague involved†and she was satisfied with the action taken.
However, talking to a news channel, the victim said, “I am disappointed with the response of Tehelka Management,†and others in the magazine were equally unhappy.
The whole scandal has triggered an online controversy where some Twitter users demanding strict criminal action against Tejpal, while noted people like Javed Akhtar came openly in support of Mr. Tarun Tejpal.
Kiran Bedi, former IPS officer, pointed out that Tehelka must clarify if it has an internal committee to deal with complaints of sexual harassment, a legal requirement.
Kavita Krishnan, a Women Rights Activist says, Â “Tehelka’s response to this matter is inadequate and shocking. Penance is no substitute for due process and penalty. I am shocked that Tehelka is claiming that the complainant is fully satisfied, the complainant has told us she is not satisfied.”