Indian website defends its record

Tehelka.com shot to fame in the bribery scandal

The head of an Indian news website which was at the centre of an arms bribery scandal last year says that his motives were to expose corruption in high places.

The... exercise was purely journalistic to expose corruption in highest places in the system

Tehelka.com editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal

Editor-in-chief of Tehelka.com, Tarun Tejpal, told a commission of enquiry that the website did not aim to target any political party or individual when its journalists - posing as arms dealers - secretly filmed bureaucrats and politicians accepting bribes.

The exposure shook the government and led to the resignation of the president of two main parties in the ruling coalition and the defence minister, as well as some senior bureaucrats.

Mr Tejpal's appearance before the Venkatswamy commission into allegations of corruption had to be delayed for a day after the website's offices were raided by anti-corruption officials, allegedly in connection with a poaching case.

'No political affiliations'

The hours of film taken by the website journalists not only revealed senior politicians, bureaucrats and army officers taking money, but also demanding sexual favours from prostitutes

Tehelka chief Tejpal: No ulterior motives in exposure

In his deposition before the commission, Mr Tejpal categorically rejected charges that the tapes were tampered with.

He also denied allegations of having affiliations with any political party and said his experiences with the establishment were "very bad" .

"I repose more faith in people of the country," he said.

He also dismissed charges by Defence Minister George Fernandes that Tehelka.com had effectively helped the Pakistan intelligence service through its sting operation and said it was "standard practice" to blame a foreign hand.

Mr Fernandes - although not implicated in the corruption scandal - resigned over the issue, but later returned to government.

Mr Tejpal said he expected his exposure would help in cleaning up of the system.

"But the counter offensive by the federal government seems to have missed out on the two crucial points - of corruption in arms procurement and reform in political funding," he said.

Mr Tejpal has on several occasions accused the authorities of deliberate "harassment" since the website revealed the bribery scandal.

The press watchdog, Reporters Without Borders, has protested to the Indian Government about the recent raid on Tehelka.com's offices, saying it shows the authorities are stepping up pressure on the website.