New Delhi, Aug. 9 -- Cara Tejpal, daughter of former Tehelka editor-in-chief Tarun Tejpal, claimed that his conviction by the Bombay High Court was because of his father's investigative journalism. It made him a target; the rape allegation was being used as a means to "silence" him, she said.

In a statement issued on Saturday, Cara sought to link the case to Tehelka's investigative journalism and the "controversies surrounding the magazine's reports on corruption" and alleged wrongdoing by those in power.

"Tarun Tejpal was more than a thorn in the side of the BJP government, and what better way to silence him than to portray him as the most reviled of all sinners-a rapist," the statement said.

Cara said she had examined the evidence in...