India: Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal cleared of rape charges

India: Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal cleared of rape charges

Dubai: A court in the Indian state of Goa has acquitted Tarun Tejpal, former editor of Tehelka.com, of sexually assaulting a colleague. The case was filed by a junior colleage who had alleged that Tejpal had sexually assaulted her in a five-star resort in Goa. The incident allegedly occurred in November 2013. Subsequently, he was arrested and jailed several months before the Indian Supreme Counrt granted him bail. Tejpal has been booked under sections under sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) 354A (sexual harassment) and 354B (criminal assault), of the Indian Penal Code. "He has been acquitted from all charges. Order not given yet. It will be uploaded later," Tejpal's defence counsel said. In a statement Tejpal said: "The past seven and a half years have been traumatic for my family as we have dealt with the catastrophic fallout of these false allegations on every aspect of our personal professional and public lives. We have felt the boot of the state, but through it all we have cooperated fully with the Goa Police and the legal system, through hundreds of hours of court proceedings". "We have unwaveringly followed every mandate of due procedure and abided by every