In the face of severe criticism of her role in the alleged sexual assault of a female colleague, Shoma Chaudhury quit her post as managing editor of the troubled Tehelka magazine on Thursday morning.
In her letter of resignation, Chaudhury, however, defended her actions and handling of the assault case, reiterating that she gave precedence to the woman journalist’s account of the sexual molestation over anything else. “I would have liked to continue at Tehelka to see us through this dark time, but I am no longer sure whether my presence is harming or helping Tehelka,” Chaudhury, a senior journalist considered close to Tejpal, said while expressing her helplessness. “Since the devastating allegation was first brought to my notice on 18th November, I have taken a series of actions.
“ To my mind, I acted on instant outrage and solidarity for our colleague as a woman and co-worker,” she explained.
“Over the past week, I have been accused of an attempt to ‘cover-up’ and for not standing by my feminist positions. While I accept that I could have done many things differently and in a more measured way, I reject the allegations of a cover-up because in no way could the first actions that were taken be deemed suppression of any kind,” she went on to say in her letter.
In what seemed like her response to charges by women activists that her actions in the episode were unbecoming of a person believing in feminist principles, Chaudhary said: “As for my feminist positions, I believe I acted in consonance with them by giving my colleague's account precedence over everything else.”
She also alleged that things were “misconstrued and snowballing” in the media “based on half facts and selective leaks.”
“There were only two days to act on the complaint before the story broke in the press. Post this, things have been misconstrued and have snowballed exponentially in the media, based on half-facts and selective leaks,” she said.
Later in the day, she also met with the National Commission for Women (NCW) to record her statement over the incident. NCW member in-charge of Goa Shamina Shafiq said Chaudhary apologised for failing to put in place a complaints committee under Visakha guidelines. She also apologised for lapses in handling the case.