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Indian editor says he's innocent of sexual assault charge, calls case a political vendetta

Associated Press
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FILE - In this March 13, 2001 file photo, Tehelka editor Tarun Tejpal speaks at a hotel in New Delhi, India. Police filed rape and sexual abuse charges against the editor of an Indian magazine known for exposing abuses of power Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. Police also noted on Monday's charge sheet that Tejpal had tried to evade arrest after being accused by a young female colleague of sexually assaulting her in a hotel elevator during a conference in early November. (AP Photo/Ajit Kumar, File) (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Dec. 22, 2004 file photo, Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal, right, his colleagues Sankarshan Thakur, center, and Amit Sengupta hold copies of the Tehelka paper in which the newspaper claims to have exposed that Zahira Sheikh, key witness in the 2002 Gujarat riots, was paid money for turning hostile, during a press conference in New Delhi, India. Police filed rape and sexual abuse charges against Tejpal, editor of an Indian magazine known for exposing abuses of power Monday, Feb. 17, 2014. Police also noted on Monday's charge sheet that Tejpal had tried to evade arrest after being accused by a young female colleague of sexually assaulting her in a hotel elevator during a conference in early November. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup, File) (The Associated Press)

A prominent Indian magazine editor accused of sexually assaulting a female colleague in a hotel elevator says he is innocent and will be vindicated by security cameras.

Tehelka Editor Tarun Tejpal told reporters outside a court house in Goa state that the charges against him were part of a political vendetta.

The case has stunned many in India, in part because Tejpal was the face of a weekly investigative magazine that has pushed Indian society to confront corruption and sexual violence.

The court on Tuesday postponed Tejpal's bail hearing until March 4. He has been in a Goa jail since his Nov. 30 arrest.

Tejpal told the Press Trust of India news agency that "the entire truth is in the CCTV footage and it will be known to the world."