Tejpal gets interim relief from Arrest till Saturday Morning
Tehelka founder Tarun Tejpal, accused of sexually assaulting a junior colleague early this month, and was granted interim bail till 10 am on Saturday by a Goa court.
Tejpal cannot be arrested till the court in Panjim finishes hearing his plea for anticipatory bail on Saturday. The public prosecutor is expected to argue against the bail when the hearing begins.
High drama ensued soon after the plane landed and reporters travelling in the flight directed their cameras and mikes at him. Outside, scores of BJP activists waved black flags and demanded his arrest.
Even as Tejpal's family members urged the reporters to stop filming him, he reportedly told them "the entire matter had been "blown out of proportion" and the complaint by the journalist was "motivated".
"I have nothing to hide," he said.
But his lawyers were reprimanded by a judge when they pointed to the "political conspiracy" behind the allegations during the hearing on his bail application.
"I am concerned with the crime, not the political remarks that were made later. Did the young girl make the political remarks?"
The judge also censured a junior lawyer of Tejpal's defence team for naming the journalist.
Before Tejpal's arrival in the state, the Goa police said they are seeking his custody for interrogation as they believe he has been trying to avoid them.
A police team, which raided his house in New Delhi in a bid to arrest him, returned empty handed after they failed to find him.
At Delhi airport, where he showed in public for the first time after Goa police booked him, he told reporters, "I got the summons yesterday. So I am going to Goa."
Tejpal cannot be arrested till the court in Panjim finishes hearing his plea for anticipatory bail on Saturday. The public prosecutor is expected to argue against the bail when the hearing begins.
High drama ensued soon after the plane landed and reporters travelling in the flight directed their cameras and mikes at him. Outside, scores of BJP activists waved black flags and demanded his arrest.
Even as Tejpal's family members urged the reporters to stop filming him, he reportedly told them "the entire matter had been "blown out of proportion" and the complaint by the journalist was "motivated".
"I have nothing to hide," he said.
But his lawyers were reprimanded by a judge when they pointed to the "political conspiracy" behind the allegations during the hearing on his bail application.
The judge also censured a junior lawyer of Tejpal's defence team for naming the journalist.
Before Tejpal's arrival in the state, the Goa police said they are seeking his custody for interrogation as they believe he has been trying to avoid them.
A police team, which raided his house in New Delhi in a bid to arrest him, returned empty handed after they failed to find him.
At Delhi airport, where he showed in public for the first time after Goa police booked him, he told reporters, "I got the summons yesterday. So I am going to Goa."
