Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, who is in jail, is now at the center of a war on social media over CCTV footage from a five-star hotel in Goa where he allegedly raped a younger colleague last year.
Mr. Tejpal’s defenders say the footage contradicts the young woman’s version of what happened inside an elevator on two nights in November last.
In a series of tweets, Mr. Tejpal’s older daughter Tiya hit out at journalists who, she alleged, were discrediting her father’s supporters.
Among the supporters she counted filmmaker Anurag Kashyap and journalist Manu Joseph, who have highlighted discrepancies based on the footage from a camera outside the elevator where Mr. Tejpal allegedly assaulted the journalist. There was no camera inside the elevator.
“Usne such bola toh WOH BHI rapist. wow! Discrediting @seemamustafa or manu joseph or anurag kashyap or anyone who has an opinion is the going strategy apparently,” tweeted Tiya Tejpal. The 26-year-old was a close friend of the woman who has alleged rape.
The row erupted after Anurag Kashyap posted on social networking site Facebook, “I have seen the CCTV footage too and none of what the girl says about Tarun Tejpal is true.”
Manu Joseph, whose article in the latest issue of Outlook newsmagazine gave a detailed analysis of the footage comparing it to the woman’s story, issued a statement saying he was being accused of running a campaign to save Mr. Tejpal.
“I decided to write the story because I thought it was an important story to attempt,” he said, revealing that he had met the woman for his story.
A court has rejected the CCTV footage as evidence that could help Mr. Tejpal’s case.
