The king of counterfeit

Backstage

All the elements of a typical potboiler are here "" crime, politics and a rags-to-riches story. In the scorching heat of June 2002, police stopped a car outside the Pune railway station. What began as a routine search of the vehicle revealed a scam of gigantic proportions, perhaps unparalleled in independent India.

Initially, fake stamps worth Rs 3 lakh were recovered. Barely 10 days later, after it had picked up stamp papers worth over Rs 2,000 crore, even the police was overawed by the sheer magnitude of the crime. Ultimately, Abdul Karim Telgi was identified as the brains behind the operations. It's a name that's very familiar to the police in three states.

Telgi began his career as a stamp vendor in Khanpur, Karnataka. He soon discovered a get-rich-quick scheme "" printing and distributing fake stamp paper. His modus operandi was simple: recruit agents who can convince stamp vendors all over the country to buy judicial and non-judicial paper at a discount of 2 per cent.

Unlike currency notes, stamp paper does not have any security features and that makes it impossible for vendors to make a distinction between a genuine and counterfeit paper. In an attempt to give his operation a perfect cover, Telgi even bought machinery from the security press to print the fake stamp papers. Over the last decade, Telgi developed a network which covered more than 10 states and is estimated to have sold counterfeit stamp paper worth over Rs 30,000 crore.

The stamp paper king is said to be ruthless. An associate, Christopher, was killed in August 2001 in Pune. Telgi is said to have suspected him of being a double-crosser and feared his cover would be blown.

That Telgi evaded the police for so long is a tribute to his friends in high places in Karnataka and Maharashtra where the racket operated with impunity. He first came under the spotlight in 1991. An officer of a cooperative bank in Bangalore complained to the police about the authenticity of the stamp paper in the bank.

The papers were examined and found to be fakes. Subsequent investigation pointed towards the involvement of Telgi, then an ordinary stamp vendor, but the issue was swept under the carpet. In 1995, Telgi was caught in the dragnet when the Karnataka police found evidence linking him with the printing of fake stamp paper, but he was mysteriously let off.

In 2001, Telgi found himself again in trouble with the Karnataka police when it constituted a special investigation team (SIT) and appointed R Srikumar, a former Central Bureau of Investigation officer of additional director general rank, as its head. Srikumar launched an investigation into the scam which had virtually covered the entire state and even extended to Maharashtra, Gujarat and West Bengal.

"Every seizure in Karnataka pointed towards the involvement of the Telgi gang," says a senior police officer. The SIT raided Telgi's home and recovered counterfeit papers worth over Rs 20 crore. Other incriminating documents recovered from Telgi's home showed that the counterfeit king had not only bought over 35 prime properties all over Maharashtra but also financed production of some Bollywood movies.

Telgi's arrest by the SIT caused a virtual panic among his political mentors. Karnataka's Small Scale Industries Minister Roshan Baig is in the dock because of his proximity with Telgi. The SIT has also discovered a nexus between Telgi's operations in India and Rehan Baig, the minister's brother, in west Asia. Rehan has been summoned for interrogation by the SIT.

Similarly in Andhra Pradesh, a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) legislator was arrested in connection with the case while the role of a TDP minister has also come under scrutiny. Sources in the SIT reveal that the syndicate had developed formidable contacts in Maharashtra where senior politicians from across parties have extended patronage to Telgi and his associates.

Even the police hasn't escaped "" from the Mumbai police commission down to sub-inspector, several cops are also being accused of being party to the scam.