Tejpal's rape conviction bid to silence him over investigative reporting: Daughter

Cara Tejpal has defended her father after the Bombay High Court convicted him in the 2013 Goa rape case. Her statement has reignited the political and media debate around the long-running case.

In Short

• Bombay HC overturned Tarun Tejpal's 2021 acquittal in rape case
• His daughter, Cara Tejpal, has framed the conviction as vendetta
• She claims those in power were irked by Tehelka's journalism

Former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal's daughter, Cara Tejpal, on Saturday linked his conviction by the Bombay High Court in a 2013 rape case to the magazine's investigative journalism, alleging that he was targeted and that the allegation was used to "silence" him.

The high court on Thursday convicted the 62-year-old journalist of raping a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator during an event organised by the magazine in Goa, allowing an appeal filed by the Goa government against his acquittal.

In a statement, Cara Tejpal said she stood by her father and did not care if she was called a "rape apologist" or the "child of a rapist". She said she had examined the evidence in the case for 13 years and was convinced that her father was innocent.

Seeking to link the case to Tehelka's investigative reporting and the controversies around the magazine's reports on corruption and alleged wrongdoing by those in power, she said, "Tarun Tejpal was more than a thorn in the side of the BJP government, and what better way to silence him than to portray him as the most reviled of all sinners-a rapist."

Cara Tejpal said, "I was 23 years old when my father was arrested. I was 31 when he was acquitted, and today, at 36, I stand by him as he is convicted by the Bombay High Court on the basis of a false allegation of rape filed suo moto by the state of Goa."

She also said she had initially been "terrified of speaking the truth" when her father was arrested and that the media coverage around the case had deeply affected her.

She said she was no longer willing to remain silent despite the criticism she could face for supporting her father. "I'm not that 23-year-old anymore. I'm 36 and I couldn't care less about being called a 'rape apologist' or 'child of rapist' or whatever vile slur is used against me," she said.

She further alleged that the case was accompanied by a strong public narrative that discouraged people from questioning the allegations.

"The truth is the truth. No court, no prime minister, no godi media can take that from us," she said, while urging people to read the "actual facts of the case" instead of relying on headlines and what she described as uninformed public discourse.

Tarun Tejpal was arrested in November 2013 after allegations that he had sexually assaulted a junior colleague inside a hotel elevator during an event organised by Tehelka in Goa. A sessions court in Mapusa acquitted him in May 2021, after which the Goa government challenged the verdict in the high court.

The high court called the trial court's judgment "perverse" and said it had fallen for the notion that a sexual assault complainant must be a "perfect victim" and behave in a certain way to appear credible. The court asked Tejpal to surrender within two weeks, but later extended the period to four weeks on a request from his lawyers.

The journalist has said he was a political victim and would move the Supreme Court against the conviction. The case, which began with the 2013 allegations in Goa, has now returned to the spotlight after the high court's verdict and Cara Tejpal's defence of her father.

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