they included the premises of vladimir markovic's haulage firm, which were razed to the ground, as werehe properties of other local businesses. the demolition squad arrived without warning. fortunately, nobody was inside the buildings at the time. mr. markovic: i went straight to the police. but at the station, they told me they had instructions to refuse my complaint. it was unbelievable, because it's against the law. reporter: until recently, sasa jankovic was the federal ombudsman -- a position that gave him access to the transcripts of police phone calls. and they showed that a number of residents had dialed the emergency services number on the night in question -- to no avail . mr. jankovic: all i could do was write a report saying that the police had abandoned the local people. the masked men were given a free hand. reporter: but who were the masked men, and who sent them? and who ordered the police to stand down? investigative journalist sandra petrusic wanted answers about the scandal -- above all, from interior minister nebojsa stefanovic. her employer, news magazine "nin," put