Rs. 1,00,000. He was an industrialist from Kanpur Major General Choudary – Rs. 1,00,000 and a gold chain. He was Additional Director General, Weapons and Equipment (ADE, W.E.) Suresh – Rs. 7,000 Raghupati – Rs. 16,000 Aftermath On March 13, 2001, Tehelka released video CDs of the sting operation that led to political storm in India. Subsequently, Bangaru Laxman had to resign from the position of BJP president. It emerged that the defence deals were not driven by considerations of national security, but by the greed of political and bureaucratic people. The defence minister George Fernandes and his party president Jaya Jaitly resigned. Mamata Banerjee, an important ally of the coalition quit the government. The government booked Tehelka under many sections and used Inland Revenue, Enforcement Directorate and Intelligence Bureau but could not find anything. Investors of the website were also investigated and Tehelka’s financer Shanker Sharma was imprisoned without any charge. The journalists who carried out the investigation were also imprisoned. Judgement by court On April 27, 2012, a special CBI court convicted the former BJP President, Bangaru Laxman of corruption charges. On April 28, 2012, the court sentenced him to four year of rigorous imprisonment and also imposed a fine of one lakh rupees. Controversy The investigation into the sting operation took a dramatic turn when it was revealed that prostitutes were supplied to three defence officials. Both Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and Samata Party condemned it and raised the questions on ethical side of investigative journalism. However, Aniruddh Bahal, the journalist who was a part of the operation said, “When the demand came from armymen (to have prostitutes) we were foxed. We resisted it. We were baffled. But the demand was so forceful we could not proceed further without catering to their demand.” They decided to provide prostitutes to show that officials were ready to go to any level. References Corruption in India Political corruption in India Scandals in India Investigative journalism 2001 in India