Former India editor charged with rape

A court in India has charged Tarun Tejpal, the former editor of Tehelka magazine, with raping a colleague.

A trial court in Mapusa in the western state of Goa charged Mr Tejpal with rape, sexual harassment and wrongful restraint. He has pleaded not guilty.

His unnamed accuser has alleged that he assaulted her at an event organised by Tehelka in Goa in November 2013.

Legal experts say if found guilty, Mr Tejpal could be sentenced to at least seven years in jail.

The case will be next heard on 21 November.

After Mr Tejpal was accused of rape, he was arrested and spent six months in jail until the Supreme Court granted him bail.

The case prompted critics to accuse Tehelka magazine - one of India's top investigative titles, which has exposed gender inequality and officially-sanctioned misogyny - of hypocrisy and double standards.

The case had particular resonance because it came amid a debate about attitudes to sexual violence in India after the brutal gangrape and murder of a woman in Delhi in December 2012.

Source: BBC