New Delhi:
Does the sexual assault controversy surrounding its founder Tarun Tejpal spell the beginning of the end for Tehelka?
Worried about its brand, the majority stakeholder - Trinamool Congress MP and industrialist KD Singh - may decide to 'exit the venture.'
Mr Singh, who held 65 per cent stake in the venture, has reportedly already divested 20 per cent in the last two years.
"Dilution (of stake) happened and dilution will happen. I don't want to pass any judgement but I think the way it has been handled, probably Tehelka could have handled it better," Mr Singh told NDTV.
This investor concern comes even as another journalist at Tehelka quit following the controversy. Associate editor Rana Ayyub is the fifth journalist at the magazine to have resigned in the last few days.
"In view of the present controversy I thought it necessary to discontinue my association with Tehelka," she wrote on Twitter today.
But she had also written on November 23rd, "Tehelka is an idea. And that idea continues to be as relevant as it was yesterday. No institution can be undermined by the action of an individual no matter who that is. And an institution should never be expected to pay the price for an individual."
In fact, last week Tehelka's managing editor Shoma Chaudhury had acknowledged that financial implications to the organisation was one of the underlying reasons behind the delay in taking action against Mr Tejpal.
While some have lashed out at how Tehelka mishandled the complaint, others have written it off already saying this has been the undoing of a 13 year old effort.
But there are still those who hope the institution won't be undermined by the actions of a few saying there needs to be a clear distinction between the deeds of an individual and the organisation cannot be held responsible for those.