It took six years for Delhi cops to prosecute Telgi

Trial against stamp paper scam mastermind started six years after arrest

It took six years for Delhi cops to prosecute Telgi

Trial against stamp paper scam mastermind started six years after arrest

The wheels of justice turn real slow in our country though they do turn for sure.

The Delhi Police took six long years to start legal proceedings against multi-crore stamp scam mastermind Abdul Karim Telgi.

And now, Telgi and his four associates have pleaded a Delhi court to review the prison terms of seven years awarded to them by different courts in Maharashtra and Karnataka. They contend that they have already served more or less same time in jails and therefore, should be given a respite.

Telgi was arrested by Karnataka police in year 2001 and was later on handed over to Maharashtra police for further investigation. Bangalore and Pune police jointly initiated legal proceedings against Telgi by 2002.

"The Delhi police following the information shared by Bangalore and Pune police started investigating the matter in 2002 and arrested four people. As per their confessional statement Telgi was also booked by them under suitable section," Khan said.u00a0

"We are unable to understand why it took the police so long to take the accused to the court? Meanwhile, all the accused have spent more years in jail than they were awarded by the Delhi session court," the lawyer added.

Telgi and his four Delhi based associates challenged the court verdict in October 2009. "Our contention is that how can these accused be asked to serve separate jail sentence awarded by separate courts and meanwhile they have stayed in jail longer than the sentence which Delhi session court awarded them," said Khan.

The verdict in this matter was supposed to come on Thursday but the court deferred it till February 19, 2010.

Rs 202 cr
Estimated monthly profit Telgi earned by selling fake stamp papers

Legendary?

Telgi's father was an Indian Railways employee and the scamster sold fruits and vegetables on trains after the death of his father to fund his education. After spending seven years in Saudi Arabia, he returned to India and started working as a travel agent.

Telgi was first arrested by the Mumbai police in 1991 in a fraud case. He learned the art of forgery from an expert during his prison term and acquired a stamp paper licence in 1994 after his release from the jail.

Telgi had appointed 300 people as agents who sold fake stamp papers to bulk purchasers, including banks, insurance companies and share-broking firms.

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