Abdul Karim Telgi

Abdul Karim Telgi (born 1961) is a convicted counterfeiter from India. He earned money by printing counterfeit stamp paper in India. Telgi's mother was Shariefabee Ladsaab Telgi, and his father was an employee of Indian Railways. His father died while he was young. Telgi paid for his own education at Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, an English medium school, by selling fruit and vegetables on trains. Eventually he moved to Saudi Arabia. Seven years later, he returned to India, at which time he began a career in counterfeiting, originally focusing on fake passports.

Con
Abdul Karim Lad Saab Telgis story is that of the rags to the riches. He started by selling articles on the Belgaum platform and trains to make out a living and educated himself and by doing a petty job. He struck gold when he plunged into printing and selling fake stamps. His operations lasted for nearly a decade and during this period he was able to keep the law at bay by bribing the powers that pulled the strings.

Con
He started be doing what has been even impossible to think of. He penetrated the confines of Indian Governments Nashik Security Press where millions of crores worth court stamp papers and printed in connivance with the top officials. He bought scrap stamp printing presses in working conditions, installed them in his Mumbai Press and began printing and selling stamp papers. What helped and boosted his sales was that by pulling his political strings he succeeded in getting a stamp vendors license. This enabled him to sell in bulk to top companies and banks. Soon his growing money power gained him so much clout at Mumbai Stamp Office that for long periods they feigned shortage of stamps, allowing Telgis men to sell stamps at a premium outside the stampoffice.

Key Player
Abdul Karim Lad Saab Telgi
In his early forties, is keeping the police force of at least 19 states on tenterhooks. The main suspect in the fake stamp paper racket is a native of Belgaum district in Karnataka. He began as a vendor in a small railway station before coming to Mumbai. A meeting with a forger eventually led him to the stamp and stamp papers business where demand forever exceeded supply. He capitalized on this by printing duplicates.

Anil Gote (Dhule, Maharashtra) and Krishna Yadav (Himayat Nagar, Andhra Pradesh)
Two MLAs have been arrested and charged under the Maharashtra Control of Organized Crime Act. Apparently, Gote helped Telgi get a stamp vendor's license using a recommendation from former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh. Yadav, it is believed demanded Rs 2 crore to protect his illegal business.

Anna Hazare
Noted social reformer Anna Hazare filed a PIL in the Bombay high court to force the state government to act. Today, the investigation is out of the hands of the state government and is monitored by the court. Some believe that to be reason for the arrest of some very high profile people.

Sukhwinder Singh Puri

On the court's orders, retired additional DGP Sukhwinder Singh Puri was appointed head of the Special Investigation Team probing the racket, as its then chief, DIG Subodh Jaiswal, was junior to cops who were under scrutiny. Known as 'Justice Puri in police circles, Puri enjoys the reputation of being an upright officer. Former Mumbai police commissioner R S Sharma is the highest-ranking officer to be arrested so far. The SIT says he did not maintain absolute integrity in the investigation into the scam. Even at the time of his appointment, Sharma was plagued with allegations of bribing his way to the top post.

Police Commissioner R S Sharma

Former Mumbai police commissioner R S Sharma is the highest-ranking officer to be arrested so far. The SIT says he did not maintain absolute integrity in the investigation into the scam. Even at the time of his appointment, Sharma was plagued with allegations of bribing his way to the top post.

Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal

Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Chhagan Bhujbal finds himself in a soup because he had appointed Sharma as Mumbai police chief. Even at that time, it was known that Sharma's role in the racket was not entirely above board.

Government Reactions
EX-Finance Minister Jaswant Singh said the value of the fake stamp papers recovered by various investigative agencies was Rs 3,376 crores. Speaking in the Lok Sabha on a calling attention motion on the stamp paper scam, the minister said the agencies had registered 74 cases in this connection, with 15 against chief accused Abdul Karim Telgi.

TIME SPAN
1991: First case registered in fake stamps case. But no action is taken 1993: Abdul Karim Telgi arrested for first time in passport case. Meets Ramratan Soni in jail who introduces him to fake stamp papers 1995: Telgi breaks with Soni and enters fake stamps market. That year, seven cases are registered against him but he is not arrested 2001: Karnataka government arrests him. In jail Telgi calls up contacts on his cellphone, while the police secretly record conversations.

Con
January 2003: On January 9, after police get custody of Telgi, DIG Subodh Jaiswal finds Telgi partying at his Cuffe Parade house with policemen and not under arrest March 2003: SIT of Pune police submits report on irregularities in the case to Maharashtra home. Sept 4, 2003: Social activist Anna Hazare files PIL in High Court Sept 6, 2003: C Krishna Yadav, TDP MLA is arrested Nov 7, 2003: Jt CP Sridha Vaghal ar Nov 13, 2003: RS Sharma goes on leave Dec 06, 2003: I am ready for lie detector tests, says Telgi Sharma remanded to judicial custody on SIT's plea

Jailed Telgi Aide Dead

September 30, 2004 14:21 IST Last Updated: September 30, 2004 14:38 IST Abdul Mujahid, a key aide of Abdul Karim Telgi, the prime accused in the multi-crore fake stamp paper scam, died in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, senior prison officer S S Chouhan said. Mujahid (70), who was lodged in the Indore district jail, complained of uneasiness and was referred to hospital. He died before reaching there, the jail officer said. Mujahid had established Telgi's network in Indore and Malwa under the name Malwa Enterprises, the police said. He was arrested and brought to Indore from Mumbai by the Central Bureau of Investigation on July 5 and sent to the district jail.

conclusion
I am not the kingpin, claims Abdul Karim Telgi Seeking to give a new twist, prime accused in the multithousand crore fake stamp paper scam, Abdul Karim Telgi claimed that another accused Mohammed Sayeed was the "kingpin" of the racket. "Mohammed Sayeed is the kingpin. I have told everything to the police," Telgi told the media as he was whisked away by police after being produced in a court. When asked about details regarding Sayeed, head of the Special Investigation Team (STAMPIT) in Karnataka, and that the man was arrested by STAMPIT from Kolkata on April 28 last year.

Con.
Sayeed was also wanted in stamp paper racket cases registered in Pune as also by Crime BranchCID. Currently, he is in the custody of Mumbai Police. Sayeed, in his 50s, was in the fake stamp paper business earlier than Telgi. Sayeed specialized in recycling of stamps. Telgi also said he is "happy" that the Karnataka Government has handed over the case to CBI, from which he was confident of getting "justice". He has claimed that Ram Jethmalani would fight his case in the Supreme Court.