The name ‘Abdul Karim Telgi’ may not ring a bell for many Indians today, however, back in the 1990s and early 2000s, Telgi was the man behind one of the biggest scams in the country’s history. His counterfeit stamp paper racket that spread across multiple states shook the nation and caused losses to the tune of tens of thousands of crores.
Even years after the scam surfaced and Telgi was arrested, the mystery around the man and his larger-than-life persona has continued to intrigue people. So what actually happened to the mastermind behind India’s stamp paper scam? Is Telgi still alive or has he passed away? Let’s find out.
A Humble Beginning That Took A Criminal Turn
Abdul Karim Telgi had very modest beginnings in Khanapur, a small town in Karnataka. Born in 1961, Telgi lost his father at a young age and sold fruits and vegetables on trains to support his family and fund his own education.
After finishing school, Telgi moved to Saudi Arabia for work like many other young Indians in search of better fortunes. However, the twist in Telgi’s story came once he returned to India. He began operating as a travel agent in Mumbai and started cleverly forging documents to send people abroad illegally. In 1991, his luck ran out and Telgi was arrested for forgery and cheating.
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However, this first stint in jail did not deter the ambitious and shrewd Telgi. In the 1990s, he began counterfeiting stamp papers in a very methodical manner and created one of India’s biggest corruption scams.
Abdul Karim Telgi’s Stamp Paper Scam That Shook The Nation
Telgi’s modus operandi involved very smart counterfeiting of stamp papers which were a vital legal document for all kind of transactions at the time. He got printing machines and enlisted agents to sell the fake stamp papers to banks, businesses, stock brokers and more.
It is estimated that the scam went on for almost a decade right under the government’s nose and drained the exchequer of around 20,000 crores! Telgi would print fake stamp papers and also deliberately limit supply of genuine stamps to increase demand. Shockingly, several police officers and bureaucrats were also part of the racket.
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The scam first came to light in 2000 when fake stamps were seized in Bengaluru. However, Telgi went into hiding as the massive proportions of his racket were exposed. He was finally arrested in 2001 from Ajmer.
The Downfall of India’s Counterfeit King Abdul Karim Telgi
By the time Telgi was arrested, he had amassed unbelievable wealth and lived a flashy, larger-than-life existence. He was known to shower money at dance bars and was surrounded by powerful, shady politicians, police officers and bureaucrats.
As investigators dug deeper into the fakes stamp case, the shocking extent of Telgi’s network became evident. In 2006, Telgi and several associates were convicted and handed 30 years rigorous imprisonment sentences.
In 2007, in another ruling, Telgi was given 13 more years in jail and fined a whopping Rs 200 crores for his role as the kingpin of the fake stamp racket. He had already been in jail for more than a decade when he met his end in 2017.
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Abdul Karim Telgi’s Death Reason – Is Telgi still Alive or Not?
Telgi passed away in October 2017 at the age of 56 while still serving his long sentence at Bengaluru’s Victoria Hospital. By this time, the man had been in poor health for years, suffering from diabetes, hypertension, meningitis and other illnesses. His death was rather low-profile and went almost unnoticed amidst the hustle-bustle of current affairs.
In a final controversial twist, a year after Telgi’s death, a Maharashtra court acquitted him and several others accused in the fake stamp paper case. The judge cited lack of evidence, leaving many questions unanswered about Telgi’s alleged political connections who may have helped him evade justice.
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Nonetheless, Telgi’s fascinating and dramatic rise and fall made him the subject of much curiosity, speculation and even pop culture adaptations. His life story encapsulates the dark underbelly of crime, corruption and powerplay in modern India. Telgi may be long gone, but his legacy as one of India’s most ingenious scamsters persists.
Summery:
- Born in 1961 in modest circumstances, Telgi built a massive counterfeit stamp racket in the 1990s.
- The scam cost the government Rs 300 billion through sale of fake stamp paper used for legal/financial transactions.
- Telgi evaded authorities for years before being arrested in 2001 and sentenced to 30 years in 2006.
- He died aged 56 in 2017 while still in jail serving his sentence and suffering from multiple health issues.
- Even after his death, Telgi was acquitted by a court in 2018 due to lack of conclusive evidence in the scam case.
- Telgi’s fascinating rags to riches story as a scamster has been adapted in movies and web series over the years.
- His legacy provides insight into corruption, crime and weak law enforcement that allowed his scam to thrive at such scale.
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Conclusion
Ultimately, Abdul Karim Telgi’s storied and controversial life came to an end in 2017 while imprisoned for his crimes. By this time, the once formidable scam kingpin was in declining health suffering from long-term conditions like diabetes and hypertension. In October 2017, Telgi passed away in a Bengaluru hospital at the age of 56 after succumbing to multiple organ failure.