More trouble for Tarun Tejpal

High Court turned down Tarun Tejpal’s interim protection against police arrest in sexual assault case. The hearing of Tejpal’s anticipatory bail plea will be done tomorrow. The Delhi police also opposing the transit bail plea.

Opposing Tejpal’s bail plea, the counsel for the Goa police said, “I am opposing the matter due to the seriousness of the allegations against the accused.”

Amidst criticism and slamming from all quarter, Tahelka’s Founder and Chief, Tarun Tejpal today tried his best to play ‘political sympathy’ card and slammed Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar for taking ‘revenge’ against him. Tejpal today said that the FIR filed by Goa Police against him is “politically motivated”. Tejpal is trying to suggest that BJP maligning him in this case and Mr. Parrikar was taking undue interest in the matter.

Meanwhile a team of Goa Police on Tuesday reached Mumbai to record the statement of the woman who accused Tejpal Tejpal of sexually assaulting her in a Goa hotel.

In another setback for Tahelka and its Managing Editor Shoma Chaudhury, Urvashi Butalia today has announced that she will not be a part of the committee which has been set up by Tahelka to look into the sexual assault charges against former Tehelka Editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal.

Zubaan Books has clarified Urvashi Butalia’s position through tweets.

“Zubaan would like to clarify that our director Urvashi Butalia is not on the committee Tehelka was planning to set up in line with the Vishakha guidelines, nor on any other committee related to the Tejpal case. On Friday the 22nd of November Urvashi wrote to @ShomaChaudhury saying any such committee that was planned was redundant now that due process under the law had begun.”

Earlier in the day Tehelka’s Senior Editor Rana Ayyub has resigned from her post saying it is impossible for her to continue in the organization. After Revati Laul, Ayesha Siddiqa, Shougat Dasgupta and Jay Mazoomdar, this is the fifth employee who had submitted resignation from Tahelka since the news broke that its editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal had molested a woman journalist and the company and its managing editor Shoma Chaudhury is trying her best to cover-up the incident.

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