Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a journalist woman colleague, will be tried by a fast track court and three witnesses in whom she had confided are expected to depose before a Goa magistrate tomorrow.
In Delhi, Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar said, "Tejpal will be tried in a fast track court. We will follow the Supreme Court's guidelines and have a female judge in this case."
"I will see to it that justice is given to the girl. No one need be worried that Tejpal, just because of his earlier background, will be treated in a wrong way or a different way," he said while responding to a question at a function.
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Tehelka's sting operation had led to the resignation of the then BJP president Bangaru Laxman who was caught on tape accepting money from undercover television reporters in connection with a purported defence deal.
In Panaji, a senior police officer said the three colleagues of the woman journalist who had confided to them after the alleged incident, will record their statement before the magistrate tomorrow.
Tehelka's former Managing Editor Shoma Chowdhury has been summoned by the Goa police to appear before it on Saturday.
The police is likely to seek extension of Tejpal's custody by another eight days when he is produced in court on Saturday. The six-day police custody given earlier ends tomorrow evening.
"The investigation is heading in the right direction and we are interrogating Tejpal in detail...He (Tejpal) is cooperating," a senior police officer said.
The detailed statements of Tejpal are being recorded by a team led by Investigating Officer (IO) Sunita Sawant under the supervision of Deputy Superintendent of Police Sammy Tavares.
"...Tejpal has been maintaining that the act was consensual," the officer said on the condition of anonymity.
Tejpal, who has been in police custody since Saturday night, has been spending much of his time going around pathological labs at Goa Medical College and OPD of the Institute of Psychiatry and Human Behaviour (IPHB). He will now undergo a third round of medical tests.
Questioning of Tejpal began on Sunday at the Crime Branch.
