Ex-Tehelka editor summoned over sex case
Shoma Chaudhury faces police questioning over alleged sexual assault on junior colleague by her boss.
The former managing editor of India’s Tehelka magazine Shoma Chaudhury has been summoned by police in the western state of Goa in connection with the sexual assault charge against her former boss and investigative journalist Tarun Tejpal.
Chaudhury resigned from Tehelka last week following an uproar over Tejpal’s alleged sexual assault on a junior colleague during the course of a high-brow seminar “Thinkfest” at Goa from November 8-10.
The journalist-victim who complained of sexual assault, first informed Chaudhury who reportedly accosted Tejpal and got an apology from him. Tejpal also recused himself from the post of editor-in-chief of Tehelka for six months as “atonement”.
Soon after, the victim’s complaint became public and Chaudhury was criticised for not informing the police or advising the victim to go to the police. There were even allegations, including by the journalist-victim that Chaudhury attempted a cover up. In her defence, Chaudhury said she went by legal advice and there was no intention to bury the complaint.
Chaudhury has already been questioned by the Goa police in Delhi a few days back. On Wednesday, she and three others received summons from the Goa police to record their statement before a judge in the provincial capital Panaji, media reports said.
The accused Tejpal was arrested last week and is currently in police custody for six days in Panaji. On Wednesday, a Goa court rejected his plea for a fan in his jail, reports said.
The sexual assault charge has taken the Indian media by storm, with questions being raised regarding the survival of the magazine itself. At least eight senior editors of the magazine have resigned.
Tehelka has been known for feisty journalism and built a reputation with its exposes of corrupt politicians and for taking cudgels on behalf of the marginalised.