Pumpin146; up a jam

We tried everyone. Some were aware but did not have the list. Others were ignorant but happy that they were being let into an investigation....

In the beginning we struggled, running into a dead-end each time we thought we were making headway. Reporters across the country worked hard, poring over lists with names which made little sense. We had to call, visit people to cross-check credentials, face hostility, abuse and some danger.

How did we get it? A tip-off that BJP functionaries were being rewarded with petrol pumps and gas agencies. We worked the phones. Petroleum Ministry officials conceded that something fishy maybe going on but of course they wouldn8217;t talk. No one had the big picture, forget a list. All we had were a few names, not good enough to write a story. A source in the Lok Sabha Secretariat said that a Member of Parliament had a list. But when we contacted the MP, he only gave us a peep show, refusing to part with the list of names. So there was a list! The hunt for the petrol pump list began.

We tried everyone. Some were aware but did not have the list. Others were ignorant but happy that they were being let into an investigation. Request for the list from the ministry ended up in denial. The MP we had contacted clammed up, refusing to come on line.

Days turned into a fortnight until we met our very own Deep Throat. He was politically unconnected and had no axe to grind.

He said he would give it a try. Late on a Friday night when the office was deserted, he handed us the list. It was a huge file! It made no sense. It had no direct names or links.

Days turned into a fortnight until we met our very own Deep Throat. He was politically unconnected and had no axe to grind. He said he would give it a try. Late on a Friday night when the office was deserted, he handed us the list. It was a huge file! It made no sense. It had no direct names or links

Now we needed someone to make sense of it. So we pooled in all our resources, calling up people who we thought could be related to X, Y or Z in political circles simply because of the locations and their surnames.

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They were shots in the dark. We would call up an MP or a minister8217;s house and an aide would come on line. The conversation would go something like this: Is it minister so-and-so8217;s residence? I am a friend of Raju Yadav name of the allottee. Is he home? No? Never mind. Is he at Meerut location where the petrol pump was? When is he returning?? In a week8217;s time? What is his address there?? Any phone number??? Thanks end of conversation.

The second guy would then call up the same number: Is Raju Yadav home? No? Can you tell me if he is really the minister8217;s nephew or is he just making it up?? He is. Okay. Okay. Tell him I called.

This went on throughout the day until we had a dozen known and confirmed names. The first story appeared in The Sunday Express. We followed it with a few more. And then we had no names left. We needed to take the story forward but we didn8217;t know how. Sitting here in Delhi, how could we check whether name XYZ on the list was related to a minister in Maharashtra or Madhya Pradesh or Himachal Pradesh?

We decided to despatch pages from the list to reporters in different states. Through the night we photocopied the list 8212;- more than 3000 names 8212;- and faxed it to our offices across the country. Gradually, we stated getting word from our sleuths. Yes, they could identify names, relationships and connections with ruling party members. We started counting. We had our story.

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It was team work, Indian Express style. These are the names: Amitav Ranjan, Rakesh Sinha, Dalip Singh New Delhi; Prafulla Marpakwar Mumbai; Vikram Jit Singh, Mukesh Bhardwaj Chandigarh; Dharmendra Rataul Shimla; Hartosh Singh Bal Bhopal; Ashwani Sharma Raipur; Satyajit Joshi, Madhav Gokhale, Prasannakumar Keskar Pune; Amit Sharma Lucknow; Janyala Sreenivas Ahmedabad; Manoj Prasad Ranchi; Sukhmani Singh Jaipur; Nirmala Ganapathy Patna; K R Balasubramanyam, Sarjoo Katkar Bangaloreand G S Vasu Hyderabad, Vivek Deshpande Nagpur

No celebrity journalists here. Simply the watchdog press committed to the ideals of the Fourth Estate.

Fallout: ALLOTMENTS CANCELLED

The Prime Minister cancelled all allotments but the order was challenged in various courts . The Supreme Court overturned the order and constituted a two-member committee to look into it.