Tehelka's Teresa deposes before panel
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, February 08 2010: North East india's Principal Correspondent of the Tehelka news magazine Teresa Rehman appeared before the Agarwal Commission at Manipur Bhavan, Guwahati today.

The Commission, that had been investigating to ascertain facts on the controversial July 23, 2009 firing incident at BT Road (Khwairamband Keithel) summoned Teresa to present her statement as she had filed the story along with photographs that captured images of police commandos over-powering one of two victims killed in the firing incident.

While deposing before the probe panel today, Teresa conceded that she has no knowledge on who clicked the photos of the particular incident.

File photo of Teresa Rehman

The Tehelka correspondent had conveyed to the Agarwal Commission of her reluctance to appear at the panel's hearing held at Imphal with the assertion that she received threats on telephone against her presence here.

During her presentation, Teresa said compilation of the story under the headline 'Murder in-plain sight' along with 12 pictures was based on the photographic evidence.

Further stating that the photos in her story were sent through e-mail by a source, she nevertheless declined to divulge details of the source on the ground that she being a journalist has the right and liberty of not disclosing identity of the source.

To poser of the Commission's counsel "did you verify genuineness of the photographs published in the above issue of the magazine ?", Teresa responded in the negative and hastened to add that the photos were forwarded to Editor of the news magazine.

As the Editor and photo department of the magazine intimated that the report/story be filed she followed the directive, Teresa said adding that she compiled the story from her Guwahati office and that she was not present at Imphal.

When the police counsel Advocate N Kumarjit cross-examined Teresa and described the her report/story as concocted and fictitious without any proof, the Principal Correspondent dismissing the accusation claimed of interviewing the victim Sanjit's mother and other eyewitnesses on the telephone.

She asserted that the photos published with the same story were neither tampered nor superimposed.

Fixing the next hearing at Imphal on February 23, the Commission in the meantime, reportedly sent summons to two doctors of RIMS' forensic Science Department to present post mortem examination report of the deceased Th Rabina Devi and Ch Sanjit singh; Editor/publisher of Tehelka news magazine Tarun J Tejpal to produce relevant photographs; and to those commando personnel who were present at the firing site to depose and give statements before the panel.

It may be mentioned that photographs published in the Tehelka news magazine had triggered protracted protests with NGOs accusing police commandos of staging fake encounter resulting in the Government ordering the probe after a court directive.