Colleagues questioned,back victim statement

A Goa Police team will now visit the Tehelka journalist in Mumbai and get her statement,following which Tejpal will be asked to join the investigation.

The victim had also marked her first complaint narrating the incident which she sent to Tehelka managing editor Shoma Chaudhury to the three colleagues.

The three were questioned for around four hours at Goa Sadan in Delhi on Sunday morning. The state police team flew back to Goa in the afternoon.

“As of now we have collected CCTV footage from the hotel and the mails that were exchanged following the incident. Once we get the victim’s statement,we will either ask Tejpal to come to Goa for interrogation or our team may come back to question him. Once we get the victim’s statement,the case will be stronger,” a Goa Police official said.

In Panaji,DIG O P Mishra said they had completed their “first round of questioning”. “Our team visited the Tehelka office in Delhi. They examined the Managing Editor of Tehelka. They also took into possession relevant documents,certain electronic items,” he said.

Goa DGP Kishen Kumar said they hadn’t contacted the victim yet. “We have just begun our investigation,” he said. Asked why Tejpal had not been interrogated yet,he added: “We are doing a proper investigation. We did enquire about him. The investigation cannot be completed in a single day.”

As per sources,the CCTV footage the officials have seized only shows Tejpal and the alleged victim walking into a lift and then coming out. There is no visual evidence of what happened inside the elevator.

On Saturday night,the three-member team had quizzed Chaudhury for close to nine hours,reaching the Tehelka office around 4 pm and leaving post midnight. Sources said a hard disk was seized and Chaudhury’s statement taken on record.

Chaudhury told reporters Sunday that she had “fully cooperated” with police and hoped it would bring “clarity and justice” to the case. “Yesterday,at the Tehelka office,the Goa Police took my deposition for about nine hours. It was an extremely courteous experience and I fully cooperated and showed every document that was relevant,every email exchange between my colleagues,the management. It was shared,it was a good experience and I hope it helps bring clarity and justice to the entire case,” Chaudhury said.

DIG Mishra said they may press additional charges if needed. “There are many things that emerge during the course of an investigation. If additional charges are required,these will be added.”

The officer appealed to everyone to “maintain dignity”,and respect the victim’s wish not to be identified. Stating that the Goa Police had taken note of certain websites that had revealed her identity,Mishra added,“Some of these actions have criminal implications. We are verifying them and won’t hesitate to take legal action.”