Tarun Tejpal Pays for his Sins

Tarun Tejpal, Ex Editor in Chief and Publisher, Tehalka

Bangaru Laxman, Former National President, BJP

There is saying in Hindi “Jaisi Karni Vaisi Bharni’ (As you sow, so you reap). Tarun Tejpal, a blackmailer, operator and power broker in the garb of a journalist is headed for jail to pay for his sins. His attempt to rape a young journalist colleague working with Tehelka of which he is Editor-in-Chief shows the character of the man who has been masquerading in the corridors of power as a journalist; raising money taking huge amount as donations and contributions from powerful Congress leaders and ministers.

Tejpal’s first act as an agent of the Congress was to trap Bangaru Laxman, the then BJP President. In a preplanned manner, Tejpal wrote the script to trap Laxman to embarrass the BJP and the NDA Government headed by Atal Behari Vajpayee in 2001. For this, he was allegedly paid by the Congress. After having denied that he has no stake in Tehelka, Kapil Sibal now admits that he had paid rupees five lakhs to Tejpal as ‘donation’ soon after the sting operation on Bangaru Laxman. Today, when the long arm of the law is catching up with the crime and the criminal, Sibal and one more Minister of State along with a host of powerful Congress leaders are trying their best to defend and protect Tejpal. But with exposure and relentless coverage by the media, Times Now in particular, there is deem chance that Tarun Tejpal would escape this time notwithstanding the attempt of his well wishers including some senior journalists to shield the man who committed the heinous crime of outraging the modesty of a young woman who happens to be daughter of a journalist.

Though it was clear from day one that Tehelka enterprise was a Congress sponsored journalism, Tejpal himself, in his fit of nervousness came out saying that the BJP was trying to frame him in the case since he was working against it and that he has a ‘secular’ credentials. What a crime has to do with secularism or communalism? Thankfully, the criminal journalist committed the crime of attempted rape in Goa. It is because of the BJP Government headed by a fair and honest chief minister Manohar Parrikar that Tarun Tejpal has been booked for the crime. It was because of the chief minister that the Goa Police lost no time and began investigation into the crime of Tejpal. Imagine what would have happened had Tejpal committed the attempted rape in a Congress ruled state? The entire government machinery would have stone walled investigation and Tejpal would never have been booked for the offence. People like Digvijay Singh and others are still apologists and shamelessly give political colour to the Tejpal case.

The girl works in Mumbai while her mother lives in Delhi. Tejpal tried to intimidate the mother to silence the victim but failed.

Some cynics ask question why the girl did not report the matter to the police. How many people can dare report matter to the police against his employer and boss. A man like Tejpal who is powerful enough under the Congress led government at the Centre that he can move any department to ruin and even to eliminate the victim of his lust. I must admire the courage of the girl who stood by her complaint to the Managing Editor of the Tehelka magazine, Shoma Choudhary first. When she failed to react, the exchange of e-mails were leaked and finally landed at the news desk of newspapers and news channels. The girl despite being under serious threat of Tejpal and his goons went ahead and deposed before Magistrate in Panji. The result, Tejpal will be behind the bars.

~ R. K. Sinha