Shoma Choudhury stalling Tejpal probe, say Goa CM, DGP

Panaji – Both the Goa chief minister and the state police chief have accused Tehelka managing editor Shoma Choudhury of stalling investigation into the rape case filed here against the news weekly’s editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal.

Speaking to a television channel, Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said the magazine was indulging in a cover-up.

“Police have informed me they have sent an email to the managing editor yesterday (Thursday) at 5:18 p.m. They have confirmation it has been received, asking her to cooperate in a crime which is heinous in nature,” Parrikar said, echoing the views of state Director General of Police (DGP) Kishen Kumar, who too said Choudhury was un-cooperative.

“We have written to Shoma Choudhury by way of email. We asked her to give us a copy of! the complaint the victim wrote to her,” Kishen Kumar said.

The director general of Goa Police also said since the First Information Report (FIR) was filed only a couple of hours back, the police did not get “sufficient time” to extract a formal statement from the victim. Kishen Kumar also conceded the FIR was not itself evidence and the case was still “prima facie”.

The DGP said a special team has been constituted to probe the case.

“As I told you, that is a matter of investigation. Let us leave it to the investigating officer,” the police chief said, adding he was unwilling to disclose any aspect of investigation to the media.

Tejpal is accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague twice in a Goa hotel elevator during a high-profile conference organised by the weekly newspaper earlier this month.