Already 140 days in jail over alleged rape and sexual abuse of a junior female journalist, co-founder of Tehelka Tarun Tejpal, presently in judicial custody at Sada Sub-jail in Vasco in south Goa, has now resorted to Right to Information Act(RTI) to elicit information in his fight for justice. Mr.Tejpal's bail plea is likely to come up for hearing in Supreme Court on Monday. In his application addressed to Goa police department, he has asked for the details of the total expenditure incurred by the State on prosecuting him, including the number of officials (police as well as advocates), engaged in his case, north Goa police confirmed on Saturday.
The details of expenditure which have been asked include money spent on air travel fare from Goa to Mumbai and vice versa and Goa to Delhi and vice versa by police and others, details of fees paid to lawyers from time to time. The RTI query also seeks the details regarding the number of police officials engaged in investigating the case and also the number of advocates engaged in the case. It may be recalled that Mr. Tejpal was arrested by the Goa police on November 30 last year after his anticipatory bail was rejected by District and Sessions Court.
Prior to that as well as thereafter, Goa police had made several trips to Delhi and Mumbai in connection with this case, including probe at Tehelka office and meetings to speak to victim in Mumbai. Later in February, the Crime Branch filed a charge-sheet against him. The District and Sessions Court and thereafter the Bombay High Court at Goa rejected his bail applications. His application seeking unedited CCTV footage of the hotel will come up for hearing on Tuesday in Fast Track Court in Panaji.
Mr.Tejpal is accused of rape and sexual assault on a junior female journalist colleague during a ThinkFest event of Tehelka held at a five star hotel in north Goa in early November last year.
