One of three women with Tiwari shot video in Raj Bhavan,says TV channel

The incident was filmed on digital camera by one of the three women inside the room with Tiwari,he said. Krishna said the three women were frequent visitors and,therefore,well-acquainted with the Raj Bhavan staff. That’s why,he said,they were not made to undergo any major security checks. “They took the camera inside on their own,” he said.

Krishna bought Andhra Jyothy,a Telugu daily with 21 editions across Andhra Pradesh,Chennai and Bangalore,in 2002 after the original promoters shut operations because of some “problems.” The news channel was launched on October 15. While the channel aired the story along with the film on December 25,the newspaper announced that the channel would run the story that morning.

Krishna said the women had got in touch with the channel on their own initiative. “We never contacted them. They contacted us initially and even later,they called us whenever they wanted to,” he said. When asked if the women were provided any kind of security by the channel or some other agency after the expose,he said: “They are on their own. We don’t know about there whereabouts and even they don’t want to come into the limelight.”

Tiwari resigned on December 26. The channel reported the women had been “supplied” to Tiwari by a woman called Radhika (not her real name),who had been promised a mining lease. She turned hostile after the promise was not kept. Tiwari’s office has denied the allegations calling the video fabricated.