TEAM HERALD
VASCO: It was a day of high drama at Dabolim as Tehelka’s former Editor-in-Chief Tarun Tejpal, who is accused in the double sexual assault of his former colleague, arrived in the State amid tight security and a large number of BJP protestors at the airport on Friday evening,
Eagerly anticipating his arrival at Dabolim, media persons from the state and across the nation were stationed at the airport since 2 pm. Police teams from Vasco, Mormugao and Dabolim were posted at the airport to avoid any law and order problem.
Such has been the public anger towards Tejpal – a widely acclaimed journalist who has in the past exposed various scandals, corrupt practices and shocking incidents from across the nation through his ‘Tehelka’ magazine – that a poster with the sarcastic message “Tejpal, welcome to Session’s Court at Panjim” was also seen at the airport.
The situation became tense at about 4.30 pm when a large number of workers from the BJP Yuva Morcha gathered at the airport and began to chant anti-Tejpal slogans.
Sensing trouble, Mormugao DySP Laurence D’Souza ordered the police teams to cordon off the road outside the Dabolim airport near the old cargo section, to prevent the BJP Yuva Morcha protestors from entering the airport.
Police also cordoned off the international arrival area, where Tejpal was initially supposed to be escorted out of the airport.
Tejpal finally arrived at the Dabolim airport by the Indigo Delhi-Goa 355 flight at 5.10 pm. As the BJP Yuva Morcha protestors began to swell, the police holed up Tejpal, his family members, a team of lawyers and his personal bodyguards inside the VIP lounge at the airport for almost half an hour.
Concerned that the BJP Yuva Morcha protestors were not in a mood to leave the airport, the police tried to hoodwink the media and the BJP Yuva Morcha and cordoned off the road leading to the cargo section.
As the police moved out of the airport, the media persons and the BJP Yuva Morcha workers rushed behind the police teams. However, this was a ploy by the police to distract the crowd as they were in the process of leaving the airport with Tejpal and his team through the Domestic Departure Terminus (DDT).
However, some media persons got wind of the situation and rushed back to the DDT. Left with no choice, Tejpal along with his family members, his team of lawyers and personal bodyguards were finally escorted out of the airport through the DDT by South Goa SP Shekar Prabhudesai, DySP Sammy Tavares and airport CISF officials. Some media persons were even pushed aside by CISF and the Goa Police to make way for the police to escort Tejpal and his team.
The 45-minute drama finally ended when police brought Tejpal out of the airport and he was whisked off in a private car. Taking no chances, a PCR van escorted the private car from the front, while a CISF jeep was behind the police team and the motorcade sped away from the airport and proceeded towards Panjim.
