Threatening calls made to me, says Tehelka scribe
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, January 20 2010: Even as Executive Editor of Tehelka news magazine, Shoma Choudhury submitted her statement to the Justice PG Agarwal Commission of Inquiry today, its Guwahati correspondent, Teresa Rehman has written to the Commission stating that she has been receiving 'many threatening phone calls' and that she feel there is a grave threat to her life.

Teresa Rehman has also requested that the venue for attending the proceedings of the Commission be fixed anywhere at Guwahati.

Stating that she is not averse to attending any inquiry to unravel the truth of the July 23 incident, the Tehelka correspondent said that she did not receive the earlier summons as they were not sent to her Guwahati address.

Choudhury coming to depose

However Rehman said that she cannot the attend the Commission in any place other than Guwahati.

"Being a woman, I have some serious unavoidable personal problems.

Moreover I have been getting many threatening phone calls and I feel there is a grave threat to the my life," said Rehman in her submission to the Commission.

"In these circumstances, I request your honour to recall the warrant issued against me and pass further orders fixing another date for my attendance before your honour in the proceedings and also fix the venue anywhere in Guwahati..." urged the Tehelka correspondent.

After perusing the submission, the Commission decided that the next date of hearing would be after January 27 .

In another development, Executive Editor of Tehelka Shoma Choudhury deposed before the Commission today.

The hearing was to start at 11 am but since the flight was delayed due to fog at New Delhi, the hearing started from 2 pm.

In her testimony to the Commission, Choudhury said that she was not present in Imphal on July 23, 2009 and explained that her story which appeared under the title, "Life in a Shadow Land" on August 15, 2009 was written on the basis of the photographs published in the issue dated August 8, 2009 .

"It is also based on the statements of some witnesses and on the basis of the statement of someone who had spoken to me and who did not want to disclose his identity" said Choudhury.

The Tehelka journalist also refused to divulge the identities of the witnesses from whom she received the story/information.

The photographs which appeared on pages 10-13 of the issue dated August 8, 2009 were not taken by her, said Choudhury and added that she could not name the photographers.

The photographs were collected by Mrs Teresa Rehman, the author of the story which appeared on August 8, 2009 .

Choudhury further said that during her visit to Imphal, she met the persons who were injured in the July 23 incident and protestors in the hospital.

She added that she also met some witnesses and interviewed certain people in the Government Departments, Police Department and others.

"I have no personal knowledge about the incident of 23/7/2009" she added.

The statement that Sanjit had gone out to buy medicines was carried out on the basis of the inputs given by the family members, said the Tehelka scribe.