Tehelka.com shook the foundations of the Indian government in early March

Tehelka.com shook the foundations of the Indian government in early March, mounting a sting operation that showed -- on camera -- Bangaru Laxman, then-president of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, accepting a bribe. Other highly placed people were caught by the spycams, too, accepting money to push a bogus defense deal through. As a consequence, heads rolled, including that of Defense Minister George Fernandes. Since then, the embarrassed government has been trying to twist Tehelka's arm, according to Tarun Tejpal, the site's editor in chief and majority stakeholder. "They have been leaning on anyone who has anything to do with us," Tejpal said. "Our first-round investors are being harassed beyond normal process. Zee (a large Indian media group), which we had shaken with for our second round of funding, is also under tremendous pressure not to go through with their deal with us." A lot of the money has dried up, but determined to counter what he considers to be a hostile government, Tehelka has created what he calls an "investigative fund." It was a necessary step, according to Aniruddha Bahal, the journalist who spearheaded the sting operation by posing as a representative of a non-existent arms company called West End. The cost of running that kind of operation can be prohibitive, he said, especially to a small news organization.