Tarun Tejpal, the editor-in-chief and publisher of the weekly Tehelka, has “recused” himself from his position for six months, after an allegation of him repeatedly sexually assaulting a junior journalist at the magazine.

A forwarded email sent by Shoma Chaudhury, managing editor of news daily Tehelka, to her bureau, was leaked yesterday evening.

Calling it a “rude surprise” and an “untoward incident,” Chaudhury informed colleagues that Tejpal would be “recusing” himself for six months. An email from Tejpal was attached, where he said: “The last few days have been most testing, and I squarely take the blame for this. A bad lapse of judgment, an awful misreading of the situation, have led to an unfortunate incident that rails against all we believe in and fight for.”

Later yesterday evening, a person claiming to be close to the victim spoke on the phone to NDTV, confirming that Tejpal was accused of sexual assault, which happened over a period of two days at the Tehelka-organised Think Fest in Goa earlier this month.

While Chaudhury said in a comment that it was an “internal matter”, and that the victim was “satisfied” with the action taken, other reports contradict her statement. Speaking to NDTV, the as-yet-unidentified victim said she was “deeply disappointed by Tehelka’s response”. She said: “To claim that other journalists in Tehelka are satisfied is also false since my testimony has not been publicly circulated within Tehelka, only Tarun's letter of ‘atonement’ has.”

Meanwhile, journalists on social media have disseminated excerpts from the girl’s original internal complaint email and a number of more salacious details, despite her pleas for anonymity. Perhaps this column by Nivedita Menon at Kafila sums it up the best: “Above all, we say – respect the victim’s views on how she wants to deal with the situation. Let her decide whether to take the legal route, go to the police, invoke Vishakha, call for a public acknowledgement and apology. All we need to do is back her. So that she is no longer the victim, but the agent and the survivor.”

Also see Outlook magazine’s Storified Tweets for a fuller view of what the media fraternity feels on this subject, and this excellent Newslaundry summary of the story so far.

Meanwhile, as the controversy grows, the Goa police has asked for CCTV footage from the hotel where the harassment took place. The AIPWA (All India Progressive Women’s Association) has demanded a sexual harassment cell set up in the magazine, as per the victim’s wishes. BJP spokesperson, Meenakshi Lekhi, too entered the fray, saying: “A private issue should not be sensationalised and a sensational issue should not be covered up.” She also accused the media of covering up criminal acts.

Last week a former intern alleged that she was sexually harassed by an ex-Supreme Court judge.

Photos by gael