‘Way To Silence Him?’ Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Alleges He Was Targeted For Investigative Journalism

Published 9 August 2026 · india

News india ‘Way To Silence Him?’ Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Alleges He Was Targeted For Investigative Journalism ‘Way To Silence Him?’ Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Alleges He

News india ‘Way To Silence Him?’ Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Alleges He Was Targeted For Investigative Journalism ‘Way To Silence Him?’ Tarun Tejpal’s Daughter Alleges He Was Targeted For Investigative Journalism Published By, Last Updated: August 09, 2026, 13:26 IST The Bombay High Court’s Goa Bench on Thursday overturned a trial court’s 2022 acquittal of Tejpal and sentenced him to 10 years in prison for raping a junior colleague Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal. (Photo: AFP) Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal’s daughter, Cara Tejpal, has alleged foul play days after the Bombay High Court convicted her father in a rape case. In a statement on Saturday, Cara claimed that her father was targeted because of Tehelka’s investigative journalism and alleged that the rape case was used to “silence" him. Cara said she had spent 13 years examining the evidence against her father and remained convinced that he was “innocent". She also said she no longer cared about being labelled a “rape apologist" or the “child of a rapist" for standing by him. ‘Child Of A Rapist’ “I’m not that 23-year-old anymore. I’m 36, and I couldn’t care less about being called a ‘rape apologist’ or ‘child of a rapist’ or whatever vile slur is used against me," she was quoted as saying.

Recalling the timeline of the case, Cara said she was 23 when her father was arrested and 31 when he was acquitted by the trial court. “I was 23 years old when my father was arrested. I was 31 when he was acquitted, and today, at 36, I stand by him as he is convicted by the Bombay High Court based on a false allegation of rape filed suo moto by the state of Goa," she said. Cara added that she had initially been “terrified of speaking the truth". She also said the media coverage of the case had deeply affected her, but that she was no longer willing to remain silent despite the criticism she could face for supporting her father. ‘More Than Thorn In Side Of BJP Govt’ Linking the case to Tehelka’s investigative work, she said, “Tarun Tejpal was more than a thorn in the side of the BJP government, and what better way to silence him than to portray him as the most reviled of all sinners-a rapist." She further alleged that the case was accompanied by a strong public narrative that discouraged people from questioning the allegations. “The truth is the truth. No court, no prime minister, no godi media can take that from us," she said, while urging people to read the “actual facts of the case" instead of relying on headlines and what she described as uninformed public discourse.