Tehelka

Tehelka (Hindi: Sensational) is an Indian news magazine known for its investigative journalism and sting operations. It was founded by Tarun Tejpal and Aniruddha Bahal in 2000 as a website. It began circulating tabloid-format newspapers in 2004 and switched to magazine in 2007. Tehelka's first sting operation was on a cricket match fixing scandal in 2000 and the second, which was its most widely known, was "Operation West End" in 2001. In November 2013, Tejpal stepped aside as the editor with an apology after a woman colleague accused him of sexual assault. In 2014, Mathew Samuel became the managing editor of the magazine.

Operation West End involved releasing footage of government officials accepting bribes in a fake arms deal. This caused the resignations of several officials including the then Defence Minister and two presidents of the ruling parties. Tehelka got press and public support for this sting, influenced the use of "sting journalism" in the country's mainstream media. It led to the debate about its ethics because of their use of prostitutes in the sting. Tehelka has been criticised mainly for its use of investigative journalism and siding with the Congress party.

In 2007, Tehelka published a report against members of the Bajrang Dal and for their role in the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 Gujarat violence. The report, called "The Truth: Gujarat 2002", was based on a six-month sting operation with video footage of the members admitting their role in the violence. It won the International Press Institute (IPI) India Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2010 and 2011.