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Tejpal complains to PM, Press Council against harassment

Tehelka.com editor Tarun Tejpal has written to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Press Council of India and the Editors Guild, drawing their attention to the way the Web site's staff is being harassed by the Enforcement Directorate and other agencies of the law.

Tejpal told rediff.com on Monday that the directorate had accused tehelka.com of using foreign money to work on Operation Westend, the sting operation that exposed the continued existence of corruption in defence deals.

The directorate had filed a fifteen-page report with the Justice K Venkataswami Commission giving details of how a financial sector firm, First Global, had acquired money from a Dubai-based company for Tehelka.

First Global's director Shankar Sharma and his wife Diwena Mehta had shares in tehelka.com and were arrested by the Enforcement Directorate during investigation of the case.

"Look at the story that has been carried in various newspapers," an angry Tejpal said. "The whole thing that we used Dubai money for investigations in Operation Westend is a bunch of lies! I did not expect the investigating agencies to go to this extent. They say before the commission one day that they have nothing against us and the next day they come out with this concocted report."

He felt that the agencies were now busing cooking up evidence as the proceedings in the commission and in various courts were not going in their favour.

Shankar Sharma could not be contacted for his reactions to the directorate's claim.

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