Here is the verbatim of the email sent by the Tehelka employee who was sexually assaulted by Tarun Tejpal of Tehelka to the publication’s Managing Editor – Shoma Chaudhury. The email vividly states the extent of sexual assault the girl went through and I am sure you will get lumps in your throat after reading it. Tejpal should be arrested.
Victims’s email to Shoma Chaudhury:
Dear Shoma,
It is extremely painful for me to write this email to you – I have struggled with finding an easier way to say it, but there isn’t one. The editor in chief of Tehelka, Tarun Tejpal, sexually assaulted me at Think on two occasions last week.
From the very first moment, I wanted to call you, or find you and tell you what he had done to me – but given how absorbed you were at Think; preparing for and conducting sessions, and the fact that it was impossible for the two of us to get even a minute alone together, I could not. To add to this, I had to process the fact that it was Tarun who molested me — my father’s ex colleague and friend, Tiya’s dad, and someone I had so deeply respected and admired for so many years.
Both times, I returned to my room in a completely distraught condition, trembling and crying. I went straight to Shougat and Ishan’s room, where I called G Vishnu and told them what had been done to me. (All three of them are copied on this email.
You can contact them for any clarifications you see necessary). The second time he molested me, I even told Tiya what happened. When he heard I’d told Tiya (she confronted him), he lashed out at me, and I became truly terrified of what he would do. I avoided him in all situations except in rooms full of people, until I checked out of Think on Sunday.
As of Saturday evening, he sent me text messages insinuating that I misconstrued “a drunken banter”. That is not what happened. Banter does not involve forcing yourself on someone, trying to disrobe them, and penetrate them with your fingers despite them pleading for you to stop.
As you read through the details of what happened in the attachment to this mail, I hope you will also understand how traumatic and terrifying it has been for me to report this to you — and yet how critical it is that Tehelka constitute an anti sexual harassment cell as per the Vishakha guidelines immediately, to investigate this matter.
At the very least, I will need a written apology from Mr Tejpal and an acknowledgement of the same to be circulated through the organization. It cannot be considered acceptable for him to treat a female employee in this way.
this is what you get when you pull out mfkng jat sikhs from their traditional profession of driving khatara lorries in a drunken state on rural roads into polite society.
does robert de niro and other big shots know they accepted the hospitality of sex starved vampire?
like seriously when ur boss tries to “sexually assault” you dont just say stop it this is wrong..not stop it i know your wife and kid….it might just be a fling gone wrong.
Hail the girl for being bold to come out with against a reputed man.
Ha ha ha
Non_Punju I love for your “sex starved vampire”
And
Awakening for De Niro Gang…
Ha ha ha
Wo bhi hollyWood jaake PRESS ko bolenge
Ke kisska hospitality khaa ke aaye hain.
Ohhh ma gawwwwd ala Sophie of BiggBoss7.
The Bull Lips Diva!!!
“like seriously when ur boss tries to “sexually assault” you dont just say stop it this is wrong..not stop it i know your wife and kid….it might just be a fling gone wrong.”
cj, seriously this is your takeaway from her email? According to her email, even after the incident she was trying to process that a man she looked up to as her guardian, father figure, mentor especially as her dead father’s friend, and father to her friend had done this. She did say ‘No’. Then she gave him all the reasons why he should desist. Period.
Even if this is a ‘fling gone wrong’ it is still creepy. A guardian/mentor is in a position of power. The ward/mentee in a position of vulnerability. A sexual relationship between the two, even when consensual is lopsided and gross manipulation. I have worked in enough multinational companies, and signed enough sexual harassment policies to know that from a psychological point of view this is looked at as a most heinous form of power politics within professional circles.
It would be bad enough if it was someone else. But it’s worse when it’s Tejpal. This is the guy who consistently writes for protecting the vulnerable against this kind of behaviour.
See,
Yeah this is seriously what I got from her email. I am all against sexual harassment at the workplace but if a male/female is using sex to get ahead/plum projects I have issues. And yes a “mentor” is in a position of power which at times make him/her immensely desirable/attractive to junior staff members.
Its a two storey elevator ride….Im confused how all the things mentioned in the email transpired in that short ride.
CJ you are wrong on this issue.
Believe you me, I post stories after verification and what Tarun Tejpal did can only be termed as RAPE and nothing else. When a girl says, “NO” it means NO. After that it’s RAPE!
On the first night in the elevator, the girl says that Tejpal took her panties off. I am no sexual predator nor a sex god, but umm it is not easy to take the panties off of a girl from under her dress in an elevator while she is standing and apparently not co-operating but protesting!
Tejpal must have some superpowers or just maybe the girl went along with it at first and changed her mind later (she says she too was drunk that night).
But waheva, it is still satisfying to see a pompous faggot burn.
Jack,
My heart goes out to the girl; I wish her speedy justice and a happy future. At the same time I’d like to clarify my stand with CJ. The topic he brings up is very relevant to how sexual harassment/discrimination is perceived, and I feel compelled as a working woman to address it. So please bear with me.
CJ,
In consensual sexual liaisons with an intent to gain professional advancement you have to consider the following.
1. If the sexual liaison was initiated with a promise of professional/financial/monetary gain, and the offer was rescinded than it is sexual harassment of the victim. A consent that is achieved by physical/emotional or financial coercion or inducement is not really consent.
2. If the sexual liaison was initiated with a promise of professional/financial/monetary gain, and the offer was actually carried through than it is sexual discrimination against other employees. Such incidents make the working conditions unfair and hostile to others too.
In both cases however, the onus of responsibility lies with the one with greater power and responsibility. Tejpal who writes about safeguarding the interests of the disenfranchised and vulnerable knows this. He is responsible for creating a hostile work environment.
Last but not the least, there is the issue of conflict of interest.
3. How do the employees in such a relationship avoid a conflict of interest, both with respect to their client as well as their organisation? Can a Judge in a relationship with a lawyer judge her case? Can an editor in a relationship with a journalist be objective about her reportage? Should their client/public or general readership know of this conflict of interest?
An adult is expected to know better than initiate sexual liaison with a minor even if it is consensual. A superior should be circumspect with respect to a sexual liaison with a subordinate considering the implications. My HR manager put it simply at employee orientation “If you plan on or are already in a relationship with a superior/colleague/subordinate than ask yourself this question; if the need arose, would you be able to disclose of the same to your HR, to avoid any accusations of harassment and discrimination, perceived or real? If not, then re-examine your intent.”
I have worked with colleagues who met/dated/got married while with the same company. In such cases HR and management ensured that they worked on different teams, the client was aware of any potential conflict of interest, and the professional progress of others in the company was not impeded.
Tejpal’s actions as Jack points out were tantamount to rape. Even if this was consensual (and that is a huge hypothetical IF) Tejpal is way out of line in the way he behaved, both due to his age, experience, his position of trust, as well as of responsibility. This is never OK. Not for Bill Clinton, not for Manu Singhvi, not for David Davidhar and not for Phaneesh Murthy.
pompous faggot . best description of tejpal.
@ non-punju: not all jat sikhs are rapists or drunkards. that is just a stereotype.
@jack, in all the articles on this sexual predator, please remove the word- ‘alleged’ now that he has been sent to police custody. there is nothing alleged about rape. ek do dande padenge havalat mein to sare allegations nikal ke bahar ayenge..