Indian Journalist Accused of Rape Claims ‘Political Vendetta’

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/19/world/asia/indian-journalist-accused-of-rape-claims-vendetta.html

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NEW DELHI — Tarun Tejpal, a high-profile magazine editor facing charges of raping a younger journalist inside a hotel elevator, said in a statement on Tuesday night that the case against him was driven by a “political vendetta” and that the police in Goa have refused to release surveillance camera footage that would prove that the encounter was not forced.

In a six-paragraph letter, the first official communication he has released since he was arrested in late November, Mr. Tejpal, 50, wrote that he has “viewed the relevant footage of both days whilst being ‘held’ in police custody and the footage clearly validates me.”

“The fact is, most of the officers in the crime branch know there is no case, and have said as much to me,” the letter says. His daughter, Tiya Tejpal, said in a telephone interview that she has examined stills of the footage, and that they “clearly show the intent of him and her.”

“I mean, if you have a look at it, you’ll get an idea whether it was consensual,” she said.

Investigators on Monday filed a 12-volume, 2,846-page charge sheet, which included testimony from 152 witnesses. Mr. Tejpal faces a list of charges including rape and wrongful restraint, and could receive a lengthy prison sentence if convicted.

The charge sheet relies heavily on communications between Mr. Tejpal and his accuser, including letters in which he apologizes for his behavior, and also gives evidence from the surveillance camera footage, which captures the moments before and after Mr. Tejpal and the woman entered and exited the elevator.

In the letter, Mr. Tejpal – an investigative journalist whose work has damaged the careers of several right-wing politicians – put the case into the context of coming elections, calling it “an early sign of the inherent fascism of the right wing that will target its detractors in the most sinister and underhand ways, using all the government machinery at its disposal.”

“It’s a crying shame that a major party that is bidding to rule the great pluralism that is India is imbued with no tolerance of dissenters and critics, of whom I certainly am one,” the letter says.