PANAJI: Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal’s daughter Cara Tejpal has defended her father after the Bombay excessive court docket convicted him in a 2013 rape case, saying she had studied the proof for 13 years and remained satisfied of his innocence, information company PTI mentioned on Saturday.Cara mentioned she was ready to face criticism for supporting her father, together with being known as a “rape apologist” or the “little one of rapist”.“I used to be 23 years outdated when my father was arrested. I used to be 31 when he was acquitted, and at present, at 36, I stand by him as he’s convicted by the Bombay Excessive Court docket on the idea of a false allegation of rape filed suo moto by the state of Goa,” she mentioned in an announcement.Earlier on Thursday, the Bombay Excessive Court docket overturned Tejpal’s 2021 acquittal by a trial court docket and convicted him of raping a junior colleague in 2013. The decision adopted an enchantment filed by the Goa authorities in opposition to his acquittal.Cara mentioned she had initially been “afraid of talking the reality” after her father’s arrest and was affected by the media protection of the case. She mentioned she not wished to stay silent regardless of the criticism that might observe.“I’m not that 23-year-old anymore. I’m 36 and I couldn’t care much less about being known as a ‘rape apologist’ or ‘little one of rapist’ or no matter vile slur is used in opposition to me,” she mentioned.She additionally linked the case to Tehelka’s investigative journalism, referring to the journal’s reviews on corruption and alleged wrongdoing by folks in energy.Cara alleged that her father was focused due to Tehelka’s work and claimed the rape allegation was used to “silence” him.“Tarun Tejpal was greater than a thorn within the aspect of the BJP authorities, and what higher strategy to silence him than to painting him as essentially the most reviled of all sinners—a rapist,” the assertion mentioned.She additional alleged that the case was surrounded by a robust public narrative that discouraged folks from questioning the allegations.“The reality is the reality. No court docket, no prime minister, no godi media can take that from us,” she mentioned, urging folks to learn the “precise info of the case” as a substitute of counting on headlines and what she described as uninformed public discourse.Tejpal was arrested in November 2013 after being accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague inside a resort elevator throughout a Tehelka occasion in Goa.The Classes Court docket in Mapusa acquitted him in Might 2021, following which the Goa authorities challenged the decision within the Excessive Court docket.The Bombay Excessive Court docket described the trial court docket’s resolution as “perverse”, saying it had relied on the concept that a sexual assault complainant should be a “good sufferer” and behave in a selected strategy to be thought-about credible.The Excessive Court docket initially directed Tejpal to give up inside two weeks, however later prolonged the deadline to 4 weeks after a request from his attorneys.The 62-year-old journalist has mentioned he was a political sufferer and is predicted to problem the conviction within the Supreme Court docket.
