Panaji: Tarun Tejpal, the founder of Tehelka, has been sent to police custody for six days by a Goa Sessions court.
Judicial Magistrate (First Class) Shama Joshi passed the order for Mr Tejpal’s remand on a plea by the police, which had brought the Tehelka founder to court before noon today.
Public prosecutor Frances Tavera sought police custody of Mr Tejpal saying his custodial interrogation was needed because of the nature of the crime involved. However, Mr Tejpal’s lawyers opposed the demand for police custody saying he was cooperating with the Crime Branch
The former Tehelka Editor-in-chief accused in the sexual assault on a young colleague has been finally arrested on Saturday November 30, after his third anticipatory bail application was rejected by the court.
The Goa police although had issued a warrant twice on which Tejpal had managed to get an interim bail and anticipatory bail in the past two day, but this time the court has discarded his application, but allowing him to avail of home food, bedding and clothing during his time in police custody.
The judgment came nearly three and a half hours later when the court decided to reject the application.
Moreover the next tactic of Tejpal’s public stance is that the rape victim’s complaint was politically coloured and a part of a larger conspiracy is missing from his anticipatory bail application. Even though the application makes no mention of politics motivating the complainant, his junior employee, to hurl rape charges against him.
Thus the north Goa district and sessions judge Anuja Prabhudessai on Saturday denied anticipatory bail to Tejpal and cleared the road for his arrest. He is presently in police custody, was taken for a mandatory medical examination on Saturday night.
Earlier in the media giving his statement at the Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International airport on Friday, Tejpal said, “We are aware of the political forces driving much of it now”.
Tejpal will be produced before a judicial magistrate for police remand by Sunday afternoon on December 1.
