File photo: Tehelka's founder Tarun Tejpal
Tehelka's treatment of allegations of sexual assault against editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal slid from bad to ugly today, even as the young journalist who made the complaint said she is "deeply disappointed" with the news magazine's response.
Shoma Chaudhury, Managing Editor, said, "He (Tejpal) stepped down. It was not something she'd asked for. It was over and above that."
Mr Tejpal has in a letter to Ms Chaudhury declared that he has "recused" himself for six months from office as "penance that lacerates me" after the journalist accused him of sexual assault over two days in Goa earlier this month. (
Tarun Tejpal's letter)
The National Commission for Women has said it's not for Mr Tejpal to decide how he should be punished. (
Read: 'Tejpal isn't God that he can decide his own punishment') Its members also point out that legally, companies are required to have a committee that can receive and investigate charges of sexual harassment.
Tehelka has set up a panel to handle this case and any future complaints. It is headed by noted women's rights activist Urvashi Butalia. (
Read: Statement released by Tehelka)
Some activists have also asked why nobody at Tehelka reported the matter to the police.
"Self-proclaimed atonement and recusal for a period are hardly the remedies for what the allegations show to be outright criminality, The full force of the law must be brought into its investigation and prosecution," said a statement from the Editors guild of India. (
Read full statement here)
The Goa police has asked Tehelka for a copy of the letter to Ms Chaudhary in which the journalist leveled her accusations against Mr Tejpal. (
Read)
A source close to her told NDTV that while pleading with Mr Tejpal to stop assaulting her, the journalist urged him to remember that he is her father's age.
The Goa government has ordered the police to investigate the allegations, and the five-star hotel where the Tehelka event took place has been ordered to preserve footage from security cameras.
"From what I see, the crime has taken place," said Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar to NDTV.