MAPUSA
The Mapusa trial court which last week acquitted Tarun Tejpal has rapped the investigation officer for “destroying proof” and ignoring crucial and vital aspects of the case while investigating the alleged rape case.
The court also pointed to glaring contradictions and changing versions made by the victim during the probe.
Noting a series of lapses by the police while investigating the case, the Additional Sessions Court judge said the Investigation Officer (IO) destroyed a crucial piece of evidence “ the CCTV footage of the guest lift on the first floor of the starred hotel where the alleged sexual assault was alleged to have taken place on November 7, 2013.
“The IO viewed the vital CCTV footage of the guest lifts of the first floor of the hotel and knowing that the said footage shows the accused and the victim exiting the lift and the same would exonerate the accused, and instead of attaching the DVR containing the footage, the IO appears to have deliberately delayed the seizure and destroyed the footage and thereby destroying clear proof of the accused’s defence,” the judge observed, in its voluminous 527-page order.
According to Judge Kshama Joshi, the IO gave directions to other investigating officers to download the CCTV footage only of the ground and second floor of the guest lifts and not of the first floor to destroy all traces of the footage of the first floor.
“The IO never sealed the DVR room in which the DVR containing the said crucial first-floor footage was housed,” the judge added.
Deputy Superintendent of Police Sunita Sawant was the investigating officer in the case.
The court also pointed out that the IO failed to convincingly nail the prosecution claim that the accused manipulated the movement of the lift when the alleged sexual assault took place in the lift.
“The IO did not verify the operation and function of the buttons of the lift panel, a glaring and deliberate omission in continuation of the crucial nature of the evidence,” the judge observed.
The court noted that the IO admitted that there were contradictions on viewing the unedited CCTV footage of Nov 7, 2013, and Nov 8, 2013, and the statements made by the victim in her testimony but no supplementary statement was recorded.
“It is crucial to note that the contradictions are often so glaring that the exact opposite of what the victim is claiming actually happens on the screen, yet, the IO did not question the victim,” the judge said.
The court said that the settled proposition of law is that the conviction of the accused in matter of rape or sexual harassment can be based on the sole testimony of the victim if the court finds that the deposition of the victim is of sterling quality which inspires confidence and is absolutely trustworthy and reliable.
“There are material contradictions and omissions and inconsistent statements in the deposition of the victim brought on record in cross-examination which make her testimony of not of a sterling quality to base the conviction only on her testimony,” the judge said.
The court lists out in detail the inconsistencies brought about by the statements made by the victim at various stages of the probe.
The former Tehelka founder-editor, Tarun Tejpal was accused by a female colleague of sexually assaulting her in the elevator of a starred hotel in Goa where the magazine was hosting a conclave in 2013.
He was charged under sections 376 (rape), 341 (wrongful restraint), 342 (wrongful confinement) 354A (outraging modesty) and 354B (criminal assault), of the Indian Penal Code.
