Archive · 13 Aug 2026
Tejpal's Daughter Denies Victim Was Her Childhood Friend
Tarun Tejpal is a famous former journalist in India.
He was accused of hurting a young woman reporter inside a hotel elevator in 2013, and the police arrested him.
At first, a court in 2021 said he was not guilty.
But later, a higher court disagreed and said he was guilty.
That court said he must go to prison for 10 years.
Now, Mr. Tejpal's daughter, Cara, is speaking about the case.
Some people said the woman who made the accusation was Cara's childhood friend and saw Mr. Tejpal as a father figure.
Cara says that is not true at all.
She says the two fathers only worked in the same office briefly in the 1990s and the families were not close.
She also says she did not even know the woman existed until she was an adult.
Mr. Tejpal says he will ask the Supreme Court, India's highest court, to review the case again.
Cara Tejpal, daughter of former Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal, called claims that the rape complainant was her childhood friend 'an absolute untruth.'
She confirmed her father and the complainant's father briefly worked in the same office in the 1990s but denied the families were close.
Cara said she had not known of the complainant's existence until adulthood and that the complainant was older than her and her sister.
Tejpal was arrested in November 2013 by Goa Police over an alleged assault in a hotel lift during Tehelka's ThinkFest event; a sessions court acquitted him in 2021.
Last week, the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court set aside the acquittal, convicted Tejpal, and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment; he plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
- Who
- Cara Tejpal, daughter of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, who was convicted in a rape case involving a complainant, Goa Police, and the courts.
- What
- Cara denied that the complainant was her childhood friend, while the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court set aside Tejpal's acquittal and sentenced him to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
- When
- Cara's statement was issued on Wednesday; Tejpal was arrested in November 2013, acquitted in 2021, and the high court verdict came last week.
- Where
- Goa, including the Sessions Court at Mapusa and a luxury hotel where the alleged assault occurred; the appeal was heard by the Goa bench of the Bombay High Court.
- Why
- To counter the 'father figure' narrative in the case and because the high court found the earlier acquittal erroneous.
Defense View
Prosecution View
Complainant's relationship with the family
Defense View
Cara Tejpal says the complainant was not her childhood friend, the families were not close, and the 'father figure' characterization is 'an absolute untruth.'
Prosecution View
The prosecution's narrative holds that the complainant grew up as a family friend, was close to Tejpal's daughters, and regarded Tejpal as a 'father figure.'
Guilt and the correct verdict
Defense View
A sessions court acquitted Tejpal in 2021, saying the prosecution failed to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt; Tejpal calls the high court order erroneous.
Prosecution View
The Goa bench of the Bombay High Court set aside the acquittal, convicted Tejpal, and imposed 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
- Accused
- Tarun Tejpal, former editor-in-chief of Tehelka magazine
- Statement by
- Cara Tejpal, daughter of Tarun Tejpal
- Arrest
- November 2013, by Goa Police
- Allegation
- Sexual assault in a hotel lift during Tehelka's ThinkFest event in Goa
- Trial court verdict
- Acquitted by Sessions Court, Mapusa, in 2021
- High court verdict
- Convicted; 10 years rigorous imprisonment (delivered last week)
- Next step
- Appeal to the Supreme Court
- Disputed narrative
- That the complainant was a childhood friend of Tejpal's daughters and regarded him as a 'father figure'