Police investigator says Tarun Tejpal given two weeks\u2019 time to surrender, ordered to pay $5,250 fine
\n Goa
\nAn Indian court sentenced former news magazine editor Tarun Tejpal to 10 years in prison on Thursday after convicting him of raping a junior colleague, in a case that drew nationwide attention.
\nTejpal, co-founder of investigative magazine Tehelka, was accused of raping the journalist in the lift of a five-star hotel in the western coastal state of Goa during an event in November 2013.
\nIn 2021, a trial court in Goa acquitted Tejpal of the charges of rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint.
\nThe acquittal was challenged by the Goa government before the Bombay High Court, which set aside the trial court\u2019s verdict and sentenced him to 10 years in jail on Thursday.
\n\u201cHe has been convicted to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment. He has been given two weeks\u2019 time to surrender,\u201d Goa Police investigator Sunita Sawant, who led the probe against Tejpal, told reporters.
\nThe court also ordered him to pay a fine of $5,250, Sawant added.
\nTejpal, 63, said he would challenge the conviction in the Supreme Court.
\n\u201cFor the past 13 years, they have been pursuing me as a part of a political vendetta,\u201d he told reporters.
\nTejpal, who had initially blamed the assault on \u201ca lapse of judgement\u201d, was arrested in 2013 and spent seven months in jail until the Supreme Court granted him bail.
\nHe later alleged that the case against him was part of a \u201cpolitical vendetta\u201d by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in Goa.
\nThe case emerged at a time when India\u2019s handling of sexual assault cases was under intense scrutiny following the fatal gang rape of a 23-year-old student on a New Delhi bus in December 2012.
\nThat attack triggered nationwide protests and international outrage, prompting the government to strengthen the country\u2019s rape laws.
\nTejpal\u2019s case severely damaged the reputation of Tehelka, a publication that had built its profile on investigative journalism and campaigns for women\u2019s rights and social justice.
\nWhile Tehelka continues to operate under new leadership, it has failed to regain the influence it enjoyed before the 2013 case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Police investigator says Tarun Tejpal given two weeks\u2019 time to surrender, ordered to pay $5,250 fine Goa An Indian court sentenced former news magazine editor Tarun Tejpal to 10 years in prison on Thursday after convicting him of raping a junior colleague, in a case that drew nationwide attention. Tejpal, co-founder of investigative magazine Tehelka, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":560591,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-560572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n