Tehelka chief hands over tapes, transcript

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MARCH 20. The editor-in-chief of tehelka. com, Mr. Tarun Tejpal, appeared before the Army court of inquiry probing bribery allegations against some its officers. Mr. Tejpal, who deposed under oath for over 90 minutes, also handed over the nearly four and a half hour long Tehelka videotapes.

He also delivered the entire transcripts of the tapes to Lt. Gen. S.K Jain who is heading the inquiry. According to Mr. Tejpal, he deposed in the presence of Maj. Gen. P.S.K. Chaudhary of the Weapons and Equipment Directorate who has been implicated in the tapes and has hence been suspended.

``The Army inquiry made a formal request to me to appear before it, and as the signals from them were very good - their intentions to take the probe to a logical end - I decided to cooperate with them,'' he told reporters.

Sources pointed out that the findings of the inquiry can result in the compilation of the summary of evidence. This in turn may become the basis, either for administrative action, such as dismissal from service or for ordering a General Court Marshal (GCM). The three-member committee includes Maj. Gen. Mohinder Puri and Maj. Gen. M. Mathew.

The inquiry has a three-fold mandate. It will probe whether or not there has been any deviation from the established norms for procurement. It has also been asked to suggest a methodology which will make the procurement process transparent. Besides, it will determine whether there has been a security breach in the Army's Weapons and Equipment Directorate or any case of ``moral turpitude'' on the part of the personnel there.

No more tapes yet

PTI reports:

Mr. Tejpal also said: ``We are not releasing any (more) tapes at the moment... But you never know.'' Asked specifically whether the portal had anything more on the issue, he maintained, ``We are not releasing anything as yet.''

Refuting that the portal had apologised to the Union Home Ministry about its alleged involvement in the border-fencing deals as stated by one of their reporters, Mr. Tejpal said, ``We never apologised. It was only a clarification.'' However, the portal was ready to face any legal action as threatened by the Home Ministry.

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